Obasanjo to chair Zero Hunger meeting in Sokoto

NIGERIA’S former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo is expected to chair activities of the Nigeria Zero Hunger Forum’s meeting in Sokoto State today.

The two-day meeting in Sokoto, which begins on Wednesday, will afford participating states in Nigeria the opportunity to review one another, particularly on achievements and steps taken so far since 2016 to bring about zero hunger.

The peer review tool is being adopted by state governments in Nigeria as part of efforts to achieve the sustainable development goals.

Since the launch of the Sustainable Development Goals in 2015, Nigeria’s former president has been in the forefront, advocating for home-grown policies and strategies to contain hunger and poverty in Nigeria.

Working with the World Food Program, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and the African Development Bank, the former president led the development of the Nigeria Zero Hunger Strategic Review detailing what Nigeria needed to do to achieve zero hunger by 2025.

The Strategic Review Document was adopted with 6 pilots states—Benue, Borno, Ebonyi, Ogun, Kebbi and Sokoto—signing on for a peer review process.

Chief Obasanjo said his ambition is to support Nigeria to win the fight against hunger and poverty.

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The meeting in Sokoto will attract members of the diplomatic corps, donors, development partners and farmers.

Dr Kenton Dashiell, Deputy Director General (Partnerships for Delivery) at IITA commended the Sokoto state government for the preparations made so far in hosting the meeting.

“We are excited to see that Sokoto is ready for the peer review process,” Dr Dashiell added.

In the last three weeks, Dr Dashiell and the Local Organising Committee set up by the state government under the leadership of the Secretary to the State Government, Prof Bashir Garba made visits to project sites across the state to understand the concrete steps being taken by the government to address hunger and poverty.

The two-day meeting will comprise meetings and presentations and field visits to give participants a feel of the efforts being made by Sokoto State toward the eradication of hunger.

Located in the North West part of Nigeria, Sokoto has rich agricultural potential in the areas of crop and animal production. The state is predominantly an agrarian state.