Buhari Lauds Amina Mohammed’s Appointment as UN Deputy Secretary-General

The new UN Secretary-General António Guterres yesterday announced the Minister of Environment, Amina Mohammed as his Deputy Secretary-General.

Guterres made the announcement through the spokesman of the Secretary-General, Mr. Stephane Dujarric.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that Guterres also announced the duo of Ms. Maria Viotti of Brazil and Ms. Kyung-wha Kang of the Republic of Korea into high-profile positions at the UN.

“I am pleased to announce that I will be appointing Mrs. Amina J. Mohammed of Nigeria as my Deputy Secretary-General, and Ms. Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti of Brazil as my Chef De Cabinet.

“I also intend to create the position of Special Advisor on Policy, and to appoint Ms. Kyung-wha Kang of the Republic of Korea to this new role.

“I am happy to count on the efforts of these three highly competent women, whom I have chosen for their strong backgrounds in global affairs, development, diplomacy, human rights and humanitarian action.

“These appointments are the foundations of my team, which I will continue to build, respecting my pledges on gender parity and geographical diversity,” Guterres said.

Prior to her appointment as Minister of Environment a year ago, Mrs. Mohammed had served as the UN Under Secretary-General and Special Adviser to the 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.

Before joining the UN, Mrs. Mohammed worked for three successive administrations in Nigeria, serving as Special Adviser on the Millennium Development Goals.
She provided advice on issues including poverty alleviation, public sector reforms and sustainable development, and coordinating poverty reduction interventions.

She was also an Adjunct Professor in Development Practice at Columbia University, and served on numerous international advisory boards and panels, including the UN Secretary-General’s High-level Panel on Post-2015 Development Agenda.

Others included the Independent Expert Advisory Group on the Data Revolution for Sustainable Development, and the Global Development Program of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

She was also on the UN Secretary-General’s Global Sustainability Panel, the African Women’s Millennium Initiative, Girl Effect and the ActionAid International Right to Education Project.

Born in 1961, and educated in Nigeria and the UK, Mrs. Mohammed is married and has six children.

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John Kerry Lauds Buhari’s Anti-Corruption Drive

The United State Secretary of State, John Kerry, has given President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-corruption campaign a pass mark in faraway Davos, Switzerland, at the ongoing World Economic Forum.

Mr Kerry in his speech at the forum, made reference to President Buhari’s fight against corruption in Nigeria and how individuals kept money meant for arms deal.

In his words: “It has been reported that over 50 people including government officials stole over $9 billion in Nigeria”.

He added that money that was meant for arms to fight the Islamist sect, Boko Haram, was kept by Generals in the most populous black nation in the world.

He emphasized that “today, corruption has grown at an alarming pace which threatens global growth, global stability and indeed the global future”.

“Obviously, corruption is not a new problem.

“Every nation has faced it in one time or another in its development.

“America’s own founding fathers knew the threat of corruption all too well, warning of the dangers that it posed to democratic governance.

“But today, corruption has grown at an alarming pace and threatens global growth, global stability and indeed global future.

“When Nigeria’s President, Buhari, took office last spring, he inherited a military that was under-paid, underfed and unable to protect the Nigerian people from Boko Haram.

“One reason is that military budget was finding its way into the pockets of the generals. And just this week, we saw reports that more than 50 people in Nigeria, including former government officials, stole nine billion dollars from the treasury,” he told the gathering.

Credit: ChannelTV