At the UN Headquarters, Shettima met with UN Secretary-General António Guterres to press Nigeria’s case for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, emphasizing the country’s readiness to take on greater global responsibilities.
The talks also touched on climate action, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), democracy in Africa, and deepening cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
UN Acknowledges Nigeria’s Leadership Role
Briefing journalists after the meeting, Foreign Affairs Minister Yusuf Tuggar said the UN chief recognized Nigeria’s leadership across the continent and welcomed its Security Council aspirations.
Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. ’Bosun Tijani, disclosed that artificial intelligence was also a key point of discussion. Guterres reportedly commended Nigeria for launching Africa’s first government-backed multilingual, multimodal large language model, urging the country to help other African nations adopt AI for inclusive growth.
On humanitarian matters, Minister of State for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr. Yusuf Tanko Sununu, highlighted Nigeria’s efforts to tackle poverty, noting that the national social register now covers 18.9 million households, with 8.1 million people benefiting from conditional cash transfers.
He, however, flagged challenges linked to dwindling donor funding, including World Food Programme (WFP) cuts affecting 1.3 million Nigerians. The UN, he said, assured of support to strengthen government-led interventions.
Strengthening UK–Nigeria Relations
Earlier, Shettima held bilateral talks with UK Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy. Both sides agreed to deepen cooperation in trade, economic growth, defence, and migration management.
Nigeria Reaffirms Commitment to Digital Innovation and Inclusion
Shettima also addressed the Global Leadership Council Meeting at UNICEF Headquarters, where he reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to digital innovation, youth inclusion, and women’s empowerment.
“Be assured that we are poised to seize opportunities in the digital space to engage our youth and, most importantly, empower our women because they are the backbone of our society,” the vice president stated, stressing that inclusivity is central to President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
