Nigeria‘ll back UN candidate who believes in Africa’s aspirations – Shettima

Vice President Kashim Shettima says Nigeria will support a candidate for the position of the United Nations Secretary-General, who believes in Africa’s aspirations in global affairs.

A statement issued by the spokesman of the vice president, Stanley Nkwocha, said Shettima said this when he met with the Costa Rican candidate for the position of UN Secretary-General, Rebeca Grynspan, in New York.

Shettima said Nigeria would stand for equity, justice, and fairness in its support for any candidate seeking the position of the Secretary-General of the UN.

“Nigeria will also support a candidate who believes in Africa’s aspirations in global affairs, specifically securing positions in key decision-making bodies and promoting multilateralism.”

The vice president said he would recommend the choice of the Costa Rican diplomat on the basis of Nigeria’s relationship with Latin America and gender inclusion, among other factors.

“Thank you for seeking Nigeria’s perspective for your candidature for the United Nations Secretary-General.

“Nigeria and Costa Rica share a common historical background connecting both countries and their regions.

“We also have a cordial relationship with Latin America, and we do not wish to jeopardise it.

“Beyond our historical ties and relations rests our interest in conflict prevention, multilateralism, and the peace of our nations,” he said.

Shettima emphasised the need to reform the global governance architecture, which has changed between 1945 and 2026.

“It has yet to reflect the integration of Africa, with its huge population estimated at over 1.3 billion people.”

Earlier, Grynspan sought Nigeria’s support for her candidature for the position of UN Secretary-General.

She said that she was eager to lead the UN to implement the needed reforms and changes that most countries, particularly in the Global South, are advocating for.

“Coming from the global south, I represent the interest and demands of the region.

“I also have a soft spot for Africa. I know the continent and its aspirations,” the Costa Rican candidate stated.

She added that her candidature would promote an agenda that prioritises peace above other interests.

Grynspan assured that Africa’s ambition of being a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council will be given urgent attention and actualised.

In a related development, Nigeria and the Netherlands have agreed to deepen collaboration to improve financial inclusion across different levels of Nigerian society.

Under the arrangement, the Netherlands would leverage its expertise and experience in financial health to support programmes implemented by Nigeria on financial inclusion.

This was part of resolutions reached during a bilateral meeting between Vice President Kashim Shettima and the Queen of the Netherlands, Queen Maxima, in New York, United States.

Shettima welcomed the offer of support from the government of the Netherlands on improving Nigeria’s drive for financial inclusion, targeting women and vulnerable persons in the society.

He said the Netherlands’s focus on financial health and inclusion was not only apt but also timely, noting that for Nigeria, the policy had a direct link to education, security, and poverty reduction.

He listed some of the programmes already being implemented by government to boost the policy to include the conditional cash transfer initiative and schemes in the agricultural sector.

The vice president emphasised that the results were already yielding fruits across different sectors.

Shettima also disclosed that government policies have positioned some of Africa’s top fintech companies to play critical roles in Nigeria’s journey to achieving financial inclusion for most of its excluded population.

He justified the reforms undertaken by the administration of President Bola Tinubu.

Shettima said the reforms are inevitable given the state of the economy at the onset of the administration in 2023.

Queen Maxima acknowledged and commended the strong growth recorded by the Nigerian economy under the current administration.

Maxima, who also doubles as the UN Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Financial Health, also acknowledged some of the efforts of the administration in boosting financial inclusion.

She pledged the support of the government of the Netherlands to improve financial health for Nigerians by sharing experience and expertise in insurance, credit guarantee and data generation, among others.

The Queen added that the financial health programme, as advocated by her government, was aimed at increasing the resilience of citizens, protecting their investments, and boosting insurance schemes for the people. (NAN)