By Nneka Nwogwugwu
UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres has announced the reappointment of Nigeria’s Amina Mohammed as the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations.
Guterres, announced this on Monday.
In delegating development coordination to the Deputy Secretary-General, the UN scribe set in motion the most ambitious reform in the history of the organisation’s development system.
In a statement, the Sec-Gen said, “Ms. Mohammed’s leadership helped advance the conceptual shift from the United Nations that member states called for in adopting the Sustainable Development Goals.
“Over the last five years, the United Nations Sustainable Development Group was strengthened to enhance global leadership and oversight for development and the United Nations established a strengthened United Nations Resident Coordinator system as the foundation of a more effective development system.”
“The Secretary-General expressed his appreciation for the Deputy Secretary-General’s leadership of the United Nations Sustainable Development Group and her determination to reinforce collective results and maximise the impact of the United Nations development’s system on the ground.
“From our robust response to the socioeconomic effects of the COVID-19 crisis, through a boost in climate action and unprecedented momentum for financing for development, to her strong emphasis on coherence across humanitarian, political and development action, her role was instrumental in keeping the Sustainable Development Goals alive at the country level and protecting the Paris Agreement on climate change, despite significant headwinds.”
Mohammed was Nigeria’s Minister for Environment since November 2015, as well as Special Adviser to former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Post‑2015 Development Planning.
She assumed the as UN Deputy Secretary-General in January 2017.