ADO-EKITI-THE South-West regional Conference on the Millennium Development Goals, MDGs, has resolved to pull resources together to attain the MDGs in member states with a view to eradicating poverty in the zone.

With the theme “Measuring and communicating the impact of MDG interventions,” this year’s conference was focused on interim reports from Oyo, Ogun, Ekiti, Ondo, Kwara, Osun and Lagos states.

In a communique at the end of the zone’s 2nd conference on MDGs in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State, among others, participants agreed to support the improvement of the tracking and management of MDG indicators in each of the South West states by supporting rigorous data collection, storage for information dissemination and decision making.

Among the participants are Hajia Amina Az-Zubair, Senior Special Assistant to the President on MDGs, Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, Mr. Sina Fagbenro-Byron, South West Regional Coordinator for the Department for International Development, DFID, Abiola Hafsat-Costello, founder of the Kudirat Initiative for Democracy and currently Special Adviser on MDGs to the Ogun State Governor.

According to the statement, participants resolved “to ensure better governance, planning and public budgeting towards MDGs and poverty reduction by supporting evidence based budgeting, budget monitoring and tracking.” Ensure a better understanding and linkages between MDG linkages and Poverty alleviation in our respective states and Nigeria in general. Encourage and support the empowerment of existing departments of Planning, Research and Statistics in each of our State ministries and Agencies to liaise with, gather and keep MDG-specific indicator data.

Advocate for and support a State owned development information clearing house, possibly referred to as a State Bureau for Statistics bearing in mind that Paragraph 22 of the Concurrent legislative list of the 1999 Constitution says that “Nothing herein shall preclude a House of Assembly from establishing or making provisions for an Institution or other arrangement for the purpose of scientific and technological research”. Deliberately support the countdown strategy for MDG attainment in the South West by 2015.”

It added that conference would to reconvene next year 2012 in another South West State for the 3rd MDG conference.