Nigeria Lobbies Guterres On UN Security Council Bid

AFOLABI SAHEED OLAWALE

Vice President Kashim Shettima, on Thursday, met with United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres at UN Headquarters in New York to advance Nigeria’s diplomatic agenda, including its push for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.

Shettima underscored the importance of stronger UN support, stressing that Nigeria was committed to assuming greater global responsibilities.

The talks also covered climate change, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), strengthening democracy across Africa, and expanding collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Foreign Affairs Minister Yusuf Tuggar, who briefed journalists after the meeting, said Guterres acknowledged Nigeria’s leadership role and welcomed its Security Council ambitions.

Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. ‘Bosun Tijani, disclosed that artificial intelligence was a key point of engagement.

According to him, Guterres expressed delight at Nigeria’s recent release of Africa’s first government-backed multilingual, multimodal large language model.

He urged Nigeria to help other African nations harness AI for inclusive development.

Similarly, Minister of State for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr. Yusuf Tanko Sununu, highlighted discussions on addressing humanitarian crises and poverty.

He noted that Nigeria’s social register now captures nearly 18.9 million households, with 8.1 million Nigerians benefiting from conditional cash transfers.

He also flagged challenges posed by reduced donor funding, including World Food Programme (WFP) cuts affecting 1.3 million Nigerians, but said the UN assured support to strengthen government interventions.

Earlier in the day, Shettima held bilateral talks with the UK Deputy Prime Minister, David Lammy, where both countries agreed to deepen cooperation on trade, economy, defence, and migration.

The Vice President also addressed the Global Leadership Council Meeting at UNICEF Headquarters, where he reiterated Nigeria’s commitment to digital innovation, youth inclusion, and women’s empowerment.

“Be assured that we are poised to take opportunities in the digital space to engage our youth and, most importantly, empower our women because they are the backbone of our society,” he affirmed, noting that inclusivity is a central pillar of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.