By Sylvia Kodilichukwu
United Nations (UN) Deputy Secretary-General, Ms. Amina J. Mohammed has concluded a two-day official visit to Nigeria.
She had a series of high-level meetings, including with President Bola Tinubu; Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun; Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Professor Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda; senior government officials; President of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Dr. Omar Alieu Touray; as well as the UN Country Team led by the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Mohamed Malick Fall.
The Deputy Secretary-General, accompanied by the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS), Leonardo Simão, had engaged and mobilized support for regional integration, stability and development; strengthening humanitarian-development-peace nexus; Pact for the future; and partnership for urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.
Other critical areas were ensuring food security; durable solutions to internal displacement; and leveraging the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) to enhance Nigeria’s trade and economic relations across the region.
Ms. Mohammed said: “Member States, including Nigeria, and with the support of the UN and other stakeholders, need to deliver more ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to ensure a safer and more livable future for both the planet and people everywhere.”
On the Pact for the future as an outcome of the Summit of the future held in September 2024 in New York, Mohammed emphasized that the Pact remained a sure pathway to getting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) back on track.
“The Pact is not a separate agenda from the SDGs. It is one and the same. That is why the first chapter is on SDGs and financing for development. It is about international peace and security; science, technology and innovation and digital cooperation; youth and future generations; and transforming global governance,” she explained.
The Deputy Secretary-General reassured that the UN in Nigeria would
strengthen its partnership with the government through diligent implementation of the UN and Nigeria Cooperation Framework (2023-2027) and would continue to support the development aspirations of the people of Nigeria, leaving no one behind.
