It’s a bittersweet news for Nigeria as Environment minister, Amina Mohammed will be exiting her position in the ministry following her appointment by incoming UN Secretary-General António Guterres, as his Deputy Secretary-General.
The announcement was made through spokesman of the Secretary-General, Stephane Dujarric.
Guterres also announced the duo of Maria Viotti of Brazil and Kyung-wha Kang of the Republic of Korea into high-profile positions at the UN.
Except for any last minute changes, Minister of Environment, Amina Mohammed, will transition to her new role as the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations in March 2017.
This was revealed in a statement by President Muhammadu Buhari’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu.
Incoming Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonion Guterres, appointed Mohammed as his deputy on Thursday.
Buhari expressed happiness at the news, adding that it is a welcome development.According to the statement, the president endorses the “excellent selection of Amina J. Mohammed as the next Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations.
“By her appointment, Nigeria has been honoured,” the President was quoted as saying.
President Buhari thanked Mohammed for her untiring contribution to transform Nigeria and said he looked forward to sustained collaboration between the UN and Nigeria.
“It is expected that the Minister of Environment will be transitioning to her new role in March 2017.
In the meantime, it is expected that she will continue to lay strong foundations with various important ongoing initiatives critical to the government’s success in the Environment sector.
These include, but not limited to, implementation of our Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Climate Agreement, the successful launch of the Sovereign Green Bonds in 2017, the ongoing Ogoni cleanup and development of the Great Green Wall,” the statement added.
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.
