UNGA80: VP Shettima Engages UN Secretary-General on Nigeria’s Security Council Bid, UNDP Partnership, and Strategic UK Cooperation on Trade, Defence, Migration

Vice President Kashim Shettima today met with United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres at the UN headquarters in the United States to deliberate on critical issues, including Nigeria’s push for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council and other matters of mutual interest.

Shettima stressed the importance of stronger UN support, noting that Nigeria is aspiring to become a permanent member of the Security Council.

The discussions also covered key areas such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), climate change, strengthening democracy in Nigeria and across Africa, and collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on regional democracy and security initiatives.

Foreign Affairs Minister Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar highlighted the UN’s strong presence in Nigeria, explaining that the Secretary-General commended Vice President Shettima’s advocacy for Nigeria’s permanent seat on the Council.

Dr. ‘Bosun Tijani, Minister of Communications, Innovation & Digital Economy, disclosed that the meeting also explored artificial intelligence, with Guterres applauding Nigeria’s launch of its first multilingual and multimodal large language model—the first of its kind on the African continent backed by any government. Guterres expressed hope that Nigeria would extend support to other African nations to ensure the continent fully leverages AI for development.

Minister of State for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr. Yusuf Tanko Sununu, emphasized discussions on humanitarian challenges, poverty reduction, and inclusivity. He cited Nigeria’s national social register covering 18.9 million households and reaching over 8.1 million Nigerians through conditional cash transfers. He also mentioned inclusivity initiatives for people with disabilities.

Sununu acknowledged funding cuts to UN agencies, noting that the World Food Programme (WFP) currently supports 1.3 million Nigerians with emergency food transfers. He assured that the federal government is working to bridge gaps, while the Secretary-General pledged UN support to strengthen Nigeria’s humanitarian capacity, authenticate its social register, and attract more resources.

Earlier, Vice President Shettima held talks with UK Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy MP. Both sides committed to deepening cooperation in trade, economy, defence, and migration.

Additionally, Shettima participated in the Global Leadership Council Meeting at UNICEF Headquarters, alongside Heads of State, UN agency leaders, CEOs, civil society representatives, and young changemakers. He reaffirmed Nigeria’s resolve to harness digital opportunities to engage youths and empower women and girls, underscoring inclusivity as a core principle of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.

“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,” Shettima stated, noting that young people now hold key roles in government.

Stanley Nkwocha
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Communications
(Office of the Vice President)
26th September, 2025