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Vice President Kashim Shettima met with United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres at UN Headquarters in New York on Thursday, pressing forward Nigeria’s diplomatic drive, especially its campaign for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.
During the engagement, Shettima emphasised the need for greater UN backing, reaffirming Nigeria’s readiness to shoulder wider global responsibilities. Their discussions ranged from climate change and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to strengthening democracy across Africa and widening cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Foreign Affairs Minister Yusuf Tuggar, who briefed reporters after the talks, revealed that Guterres acknowledged Nigeria’s influential role on the global stage and welcomed its Security Council aspirations.
Also present, Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy Dr ’Bosun Tijani, disclosed that artificial intelligence featured prominently in the dialogue. He explained that Guterres praised Nigeria’s launch of Africa’s first government-supported multilingual, multimodal large language model, urging the country to guide other African states in harnessing AI for inclusive development.
Minister of State for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr Yusuf Tanko Sununu, pointed to discussions on tackling humanitarian emergencies and poverty. He stated that Nigeria’s social register now covers nearly 18.9 million households, with 8.1 million Nigerians benefitting from conditional cash transfers. However, he warned of difficulties arising from shrinking donor support, including World Food Programme (WFP) cuts that affect 1.3 million Nigerians, while adding that the UN had pledged to reinforce Nigeria’s relief efforts.
Earlier, Shettima held bilateral talks with UK Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy, where both sides agreed to deepen collaboration on trade, defence, the economy, and migration.
Later in the day, the vice president addressed the Global Leadership Council Meeting at UNICEF Headquarters. There, he reaffirmed Nigeria’s dedication to digital innovation, youth participation, and the empowerment of women.
“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 declared, stressing that inclusivity remains a cornerstone of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
