President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday evening hailed the appointment of the Minister of Environment, Mrs. Amina Mohammed, to join the next United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as his Deputy.

Speaking with Mr. Guterres, who called to inform him of his decision to name Mrs. Mohammed as the Deputy Secretary-General, Buhari used the opportunity to reiterate his support and congratulations to Mr. Guterres on his upcoming tenure in starting in January 2017.

“He endorsed the excellent selection of Amina J. Mohammed as the next Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations,” according to Presidential Spokesman Garba Shehu, who further quoted Buhari as saying of Mrs. Mohammed: “By her appointment, Nigeria has been honoured.”

Continuing, Shehu said in a statement issued in Abuja yesterday evening: “President Buhari thanked Mrs. Mohammed for her untiring contribution to transform Nigeria and said he looks forward to sustained collaboration between the UN and Nigeria. He said he had no doubt that she will continue to make Nigeria proud at the global level.

“It is expected that the Minister of Environment will be transitioning to her new role in March 2017. In the meantime, it is expected that she will continue to lay strong foundations with various important ongoing initiatives critical to the government’s success in the Environment sector. These include, but not limited to implementation of our Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Climate Agreement, the successful launch of the Sovereign Green Bonds in 2017, the ongoing Ogoni cleanup and development of the Great Green Wall.”

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