By Lawal Adenike
Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Professor Tijani Muhammad-Bande, has said Nigeria will join other world leaders in the push for world covid-19 vaccine equity at the ongoing UN General Assembly meeting.
Muhammad-Bande told the Nigerian News of Agency in New York that President Muhammadu Buhari will join other global leaders to push for global vaccine access.
He said the issue of equal access to vaccine was paramount at the 76th session of the General Assembly, based on its theme.
The theme for the 2021 General Assembly is “Building Resilience Through Hope – To Recover from COVID-19, Rebuild Sustainably, Respond to the Needs of the Planet, Respect the Rights of People and Revitalise the United Nations”.
The envoy said, “There is nothing more challenging and more pressing now than the global health; it is extremely urgent. So, President Muhammadu Buhari will join others and push for global vaccine equity.”
On Sunday, President Muhammadu Buhari arrived in New York for the high-level meeting of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly.
The President is expected to address the high-level session on Friday, September 24 which is the fourth day of the general debates when he would speak on the theme of the conference and other global issues.
According to him, Nigeria is prepared to join the other members state to speak on its understanding of the difficulties the global communities encounter and its contribution in addressing the challenges.
He added that Nigeria would also contribute in global discussion on peace and security, climate change at the meeting of the UN General Assembly.
“Nigeria is very prepared for the 76th session of the Assembly. Obviously, it is a challenge for all countries but Nigeria is navigating all the roles relating to attendance and participating in terms of modalities,” he said.
Muhammad-Bande said Nigeria would be sharing success stories on its role in stabilizing the west African region, joining others in bringing peace and security to the region
“We are aware that we have to prosecute the war on terror in our region, counter-terrorism is in mind. We are also mindful of our responsibility in education and health. When you look at efforts in education, health or global peace, you will always see Nigeria taking the lead.
“Nigeria has a lot to offer but also has worries about how terrorist groups move to countries, it is a concern how they procure arms. Nigeria is not a country that produces arms but we are worried so that arms will not get to the wrong hands. This is a very important discussion for the best continent. Nigeria will deal with this issue and global peace,’’ he said.
