President Buhari Congratulates UN Secretary-General-designate

Antonio Guterres who was recently appointed by the United Nations General Assembly to be next UN Secretary General, beginning from January 1, 2017 has on Friday recieved a congratulatory message from President Muhammadu Buhari.
Buhari, in a statement by issued his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu,expressed his belief that Guterres’ wealth of experience as a former Prime Minister of Portugal, head of UN Refugee Agency for several years, diplomat and a politician of repute, eminently prepared and qualified him for the new position. While pointing out that the Gaint of Africa looked forward to working and supporting Guterres to address the world’s most pressing challenges.
The other global issues raised in the statement by the President subsume defeating terrorism and violent extremism for a peaceful and prosperous future, reducing poverty, tackling the devastating effects of climate change; as well as confronting the causes of migrants and refugee crisis.
The statement read in part, “The President strongly believes that for the UN to remain relevant in the 21st century, the new UN Secretary-General must redouble efforts and spearhead essential reforms of the world body to enable it effectively address current global challenges.
“President Buhari also congratulates the outgoing UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon on his successful tenure and dedicated service to humanity.