Sustainable Development Goals and Governance Challenges in Nigeria: A Midterm Assessment

This study provides a midterm assessment of Nigeria's progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals, focusing on governance-related goals including those on peace and strong institutions, reduced inequalities, and partnerships for implementation. Nigeria is committed to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, yet midterm assessments have consistently highlighted significant implementation gaps attributable to governance failures, resource mobilisation shortfalls, and coordination challenges across levels of government. Using a policy analysis design, the study draws on the Voluntary National Reviews submitted by Nigeria to the United Nations High-Level Political Forum, the National Bureau of Statistics' social development surveys, and assessments by Sustainable Development Goals monitoring organisations operating in Nigeria. The governance for sustainable development framework and the multilevel governance approach are applied to evaluate institutional conditions affecting Sustainable Development Goals progress. Findings reveal that while Nigeria has made advances in some goal areas including primary school enrolment and access to mobile telecommunications, it is significantly off track in poverty reduction, maternal and child health, environmental sustainability, and governance quality. The primary drivers of implementation failure are identified as insufficient domestic resource mobilisation, weak intergovernmental coordination, and the absence of institutionalised monitoring with enforceable accountability mechanisms. Geopolitical zone disparities in goal attainment are particularly stark, with the North East and North West recording the weakest outcomes. Recommendations include an independent Sustainable Development Goals monitoring council, integrated subnational implementation plans with funded mandates, and civil society participation in annual Sustainable Development Goals review processes. Keywords: Sustainable Development Goals, governance, Nigeria, development policy, midterm assessment