United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, has expressed happiness in the appointment of Nigeria’s Minister of Environment, Ms. Amina Mohammed, as Deputy Secretary-General.
Guterres also lauded President Muhammadu Buhari’s generosity in releasing Mohammed to serve in a global capacity, according to his remarks to the African Union summit obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
The UN chief described Mohammed as an accomplished leader in international development who would contribute immensely to the management of the UN.
He said: “I am proud to have selected Ms. Mohammed of Nigeria as Deputy Secretary-General.
“She is an accomplished leader in international development and will give an extremely important contribution to the management of the UN Secretariat.
“I sincerely thank President Buhari of Nigeria for his generosity in availing her to serve in this important global role.”
Guterres, who assumed office on January 1, 2017, announced Mohammed’s appointment on December 25, 2016, alongside two others.
He said the appointments were the foundations of his team, which would continue to build and respect his pledges on gender parity and geographical diversity.
Guterres said Mohammed was, however, expected to assume her new role in March 2017.
Prior to her appointment by Buhari as environment minister, Mohammed served as UN Under-Secretary-General and Special Adviser to former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Post-2015 Development Planning.
Born on June 27, 1961, the new UN Deputy Secretary-General from Gombe State was instrumental in bringing about the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including the Sustainable Development Goals.
Before joining the UN, Mohammed worked for three successive administrations in Nigeria, where she served as Special Adviser on the Millennium Development Goals.
She provided advice on issues including poverty, public sector reform and sustainable development, and coordinating poverty reduction interventions.
She is also an Adjunct Professor in Development Practice at Columbia University, and served many international advisory boards and panels, including the UN Secretary-General’s High-level Panel on Post-2015 Development Agenda.
Mohammed also served on the Independent Expert Advisory Group on Data Revolution for Sustainable Development, and the Global Development Programme of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
She is also the UN Secretary-General’s Global Sustainability Panel, the African Women’s Millennium Initiative, Girl Effect and the ActionAid International Right to Education Project.
