By John Ikani
UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, on Monday formalised his prior announcement that Ms Amina Mohammed of Nigeria will continue in her role as Deputy Secretary-General during his second term for another five years.
Guterres, who succeeded Ban Ki-moon in January 2017 as the ninth Secretary-General, will start his second term on January 1, 2022, and will run for a period of five years.
While speaking with journalists after taking the oath of office for a second term, he said he has extended an offer to Mrs Mohammed to continue in office.
Mohammed was born in Liverpool, the UK, to a Nigerian veterinarian-officer and a British nurse. She is the eldest of five daughters.
The Nigerian heads Development Coordination at the world body undergoing reform.
She has worked for the actualization of UN calls on Member States for the adoption of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Guterres hailed his deputy’s leadership of the Sustainable Development Group, determination to reinforce results and maximization of the UN development system.
Prior to first assuming her role as Deputy Secretary-General in January 2017, Ms Mohammed served as Minister of Environment of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Special Adviser to Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, on Post-2015 Development Planning.
Before joining the UN, she worked for three successive administrations in Nigeria, serving as Special Adviser on the Millennium Development Goals, providing advice on issues including poverty, public sector reform and sustainable development, and coordinating poverty reduction interventions.
