Shettima: Nigeria’ll Ensure Justice, Fairness in Supporting Candidate for UN Sec. Gen Seat

• Justifies Tinubu’s reforms in bilateral talks with Queen of Netherlands on deepening ties 

•Returns to Abuja

Deji Elumoye in Abuja

Vice President Kashim Shettima has assured the international community that Nigeria will stand for equity, justice, and fairness in its support for any candidate seeking the position of the Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN).

Shettima, who returned to Abuja yesterday morning, after representing President Bola Tinubu at the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, United States, was quoted to have made the remarks during an interaction in New York with the Costa Rican candidate for the position of the United Nations Secretary-General, Rebeca Grynspan.

The Vice President said the country would also support a candidate who believes in Africa’s aspirations in global affairs, specifically securing positions in key decision-making bodies and promoting multilateralism.

He promised to 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 of 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 jeopardize it. Beyond our historical ties and relations rest our interest in conflict prevention, multilateralism, and the peace of our nations,” Shettima noted.

He emphasised the need to reform the global governance architecture, which has changed between 1945 and 2026 but has yet to reflect the integration of Africa, with its huge population estimated at over 1.3 billion people.

Earlier in her remarks, Grynspan, who met with Shettima to seek Nigeria’s support for her candidature for the position of UN Secretary-General, said 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 will promote an agenda that prioritiaes peace above other interests, assuring 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 the Nigerian society.

Under the arrangement, the Netherlands will 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.

In his remarks, the Vice President 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.

Shettima said the Netherlands’s focus on financial health and inclusion is not only apt but timely, noting that for Nigeria, the policy has 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, emphasising that the results were already yielding fruits across different sectors.

The Vice President 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. 

While justifying the reforms undertaken by the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Vice President said the reforms are inevitable given the state of the economy at the onset of the administration in 2023.

Also speaking on what the Tinubu administration has done to improve the fiscal space, Minister of Finance, Mr. Taiwo Oyedele, said in addition to existing policies on insurance and pensions, the recent announcement by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) would boost access to and cost of credit in Nigeria.

He added that financial inclusion is vigorously being pursued by the Tinubu administration to help poor Nigerians succeed and live better lives.

In her remarks, Queen Maxima, who also doubles as the UN Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Financial Health, acknowledged and commended the strong growth recorded by the Nigerian economy under the current administration.

She acknowledged some of the efforts of the administration in boosting financial inclusion, pledging the support of the government of 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.

She emphasised the need for stakeholders in the private sector to regard the financial health of their customers as critical determinants to the company’s future and progress as well as begin to prioritise it.

Meanwhile, Shettima yesterday returned to the nation’s capital,  Abuja.

The Vice President had departed Abuja on September 20, 2026 with the mandate of President Tinubu to lead Nigeria’s delegation to the annual global event.

At UNGA, Shettima had delivered Tinubu’s National Statement at the General Debate, where Nigeria renewed its call for reform of the UN Security Council, demanding permanent African representation, fairer global financing, stronger climate support and deeper multilateral cooperation.

He also participated in the Third High-Level Roundtable of the Africa Minerals Strategy Group, where President Tinubu urged African countries to move beyond raw mineral exports towards processing, manufacturing and value addition.

At the high-level education financing event co-hosted by Nigeria and Italy, the Vice President had reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to education as a critical investment in productivity, human capital and national prosperity, while supporting the Global Partnership for Education’s $5 billion financing campaign.

Shettima also met with Nigerians in the Diaspora, stressing the importance of their investment, expertise and networks to national development.

Other major engagements included meetings with the new leadership of the ECOWAS Commission, as well as UN Deputy Secretary-General, Amina J. Mohammed.

Across the meetings, the Vice President advanced Nigeria’s positions on development financing, regional integration, economic cooperation, technology, peace and security, while reaffirming President Tinubu’s call for a more representative and equitable global order.