By Ikugbadi Oluwasegun
Nigeria has officially assumed the chairmanship of the United Nations General Assembly’s Fifth Committee, the body in charge of the UN’s budget and administration.
Speaking at Ambassador Jimoh Ibrahim, handover, Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the UN, pledged to champion transparency, accountability, and far-reaching reforms.
According to him, it will not be business as usual, and that every dollar spent by the UN must be properly accounted for.
It further adds that Nigeria will oversee deliberations on the UN budget, financial governance, human resources, and institutional efficiency.
Ambassador Ibrahim also flagged concerns about the top-heavy structure of the UN Secretariat, and said the 110 billion dollar UN Joint Staff Pension Fund will receive close attention.
He added that Nigeria’s leadership comes at a critical time for UN reform, and will focus on consensus-building for all 193 Member States.
