The Nigeria Civil Society Organisations Strategy Group on Sustainable Development Goals (CSOSG-SDGs Nigeria), operating under the auspices of the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on SDGs (OSSAP-SDGs), has elected a new National Executive to steer its affairs for the next two years.
The officers were democratically-elected with representations from the various CSOs operating in regions and sectors to ensure broad representation, gender and inclusivity, irrespective of ethnic, tribal, religious, and political alignments in Nigeria.
Those elected are Chair, Dr. Alexander Akhigbe; Vice Chair (Administration), Jane Douglas; Vice Chair (Operations), Egondu Esinwoke-Ogbalor; Secretary, Dr. Auwal Ahmed; Project Coordinator, Glory Otuojor; Treasurer, Dr. Adewale Kupoluyi; Resource Mobilisation Officer, Ayodele Taofiq-Fanida; Public Relations Officer, Gerald Esemonu; and Director of Welfare, Collins Nyong. Dr. Akhigbe is a seasoned sustainable development practitioner and the Founder of African Cleanup Initiative, which has been actively operational with over 15 years of experience while Douglas is an experienced development practitioner spanning over a decade of experience, driving impactful initiatives to advance the SDGs.
She also serves as the National Coordinator of Accord-Bridge Foundation. Egondu Esinwoke-Ogbalor is a seasoned development practitioner with over 22 years of extensive experience working with international and local organisations. She is an accomplished author, writing several books on conflict management and prevention.
She also serves on a number of boards of non-governmental organisations and private sector entities.
Esinwoke-Ogbalor has demonstrated history of successfully advancing the SDGs in Nigeria. She is the Founder and Executive Director of the Community Initiative for Enhanced Peace and Development (CIEPD). Dr. Ahmed is a seasoned civil society and development professional with over 15 years of experience.
He currently serves as the CSOs Co-Chair for the Open Government Partnership (OGP) in Sokoto State. Dr. Ahmed is equally the Executive Director of The Productive Youths Initiative. Otuojor is a development professional with speciality in programme and project management.
She is the Founder and Executive Director, Development Impact Pathfinders Initiative and brings many years of experience and expertise in managing development and interventions.
Dr. Kupoluyi, an experienced teacher, journalist and lawyer, is the Director of Administration and Legal, Concern for the Aged People Foundation, which caters for the elderly, aged, and senior citizens. He is also the Editor-in-Chief of FarmingFarmersFarms. On his part, Taofiq-Fanida is a seasoned development practitioner with over a decade of experience in development communications, energy management,
climate change, and clean technology. He is the Co-Founder of ImpactHouse Centre for Development Communications and Publisher of developmentdiaries.com. He has also authored books on Fundraising and Climate Change.
Esemonu is a human resource development practitioner, social entrepreneur, the Founder of Environmental Friendly Initiative (EFI), dynamic leader, and global advocate for environmental sustainability.
He is renowned for pioneering young people in sustainability programmes, and inspiring climate actions, while Nyong is a social development expert and SDG advocate with wealth of experience and knowledge spanning 15 years that builds on the track-records of innovation, world-class research endeavours, climate change advocacy, civic engagement, youth participation and gender mainstreaming. He is currently a Senior Programme Officer with Youth for Change Initiative.
The objectives of CSOSG-SDGs Nigeria include advocating for SDG-focused policies that align with the needs of all communities; collaborating with governmental and non-governmental stakeholders to implement SDG-related programmes; empowering CSOs through capacity-building initiatives to enhance their impact on SDG targets; monitoring and evaluating progress on SDG implementation to ensure transparency and accountability; and providing professional advice on the role of CSOs in the realisation of SDGs, among others.