The Federal Government says the development of Africa would receive top priority from the Secretary-General-designate, Antonio Guterres being “development- friendly” as UN refugee chief.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Geoffrey Onyeama, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the appointment of Nigeria’s Ms Amina Mohammed as UN Deputy Secretary-General would also further facilitate development of the continent.
Onyeama described Mohammed as one of the “prime movers of the Sustainable Development Goals”, saying her appointment is “an excellent choice”.
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“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.
“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 (to) 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.
“So we are very optimistic about the positive impact he would have in the area of promoting our development issues in Africa.”
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Guterres had on Dec. 15, announced Mohammed, Nigeria’s incumbent Minister of Environment, as his Deputy Secretary-General alongside two other female appointees
Mohammed served as UN Under-Secretary-General and Special Adviser to outgoing Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Post-2015 Development Planning.
She was instrumental in bringing about the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including the Sustainable Development Goals.
NAN reports that Guterres succeeds outgoing secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon, who bows out on Dec. 31, 2016 after two terms.
The new secretary-general will serve for the next five years after assuming office on Jan. 1,2017. (NAN)
