Mohammed’s UN appointment good for Africa – FG

The Federal Government has expressed optimism that the appointment of the Minister of Environment, Amina Mohammed, as United Nations Deputy Secretary-General would facilitate the development of the African continent.

The UN Secretary-General-designate, Antonio Guterres, on December 15 picked Mohammed and two other women to serve in his incoming administration at the UN, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, told the NAN Correspondent New York that Guterres was “development-friendly” as a UN refugee chief.

Onyeama also said Mohammed’s appointment was an excellent choice as she was one of the “prime movers of the Sustainable Development Goals.”

“Yes, we are very optimistic that he (incoming Secretary-General Antonio Guterres) is going to give a very high level of priority to issues of development, which is the greatest concern to Africa,” the minister told NAN.

“He, of course, had previously served as the High Commissioner for Refugees and in that capacity, he did a lot of excellent work and was very supportive in helping African countries address the refugee crisis on the continent.

“And so we are so very much looking forward to working with him and believe that he is very development-friendly in his approach.

“And his appointment of a Nigerian as the Deputy Secretary-General, and a Nigerian who was one of the prime movers of the Sustainable Development Goals, is a clear proof that he is determined to not only engage with Africa and other developing countries, on development issues.

“But he is also keen that Africans themselves should be also driving that process and that the UN will give them all the necessary support for that.”