At the ongoing 2021 General Assembly, President Muhammadu Buhari would join other global leaders to push for global vaccine access. This was announced by the Permanent Representative of Nigeria to the UN, Prof. Tijjani Muhammad-Bande. He stated that Nigeria will join other world leaders to push for global COVID-19 vaccine equity at the ongoing UN General Assembly high-level meetings.
According to the Nigerian envoy, the issue of equal access to vaccines was paramount at the 76th session of the General Assembly, themed “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 further said that, “There is nothing more challenging and more pressing now than the global health; it is extremely urgent. So, the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) will join others and push for global vaccine equity.” President Muhammadu Buhari is expected to address the high-level session of the General Assembly on the fourth day of the General Debates on Friday, September 24, where he would speak on the theme of the conference and other global issues.
According to the President, Nigeria is ready to join the other member states to speak on its understanding of the challenges facing the global community and its contributions to addressing the challenges and also contribute to global discussions on climate change, peace, and security at the high level meetings of the UN General Assembly. He stated that “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 that Nigeria being a member of the UN since 1961, has been participating in various General Assembly activities. Furthermore, He assured that Nigeria would be sharing success stories with the Assembly on its role in stabilising the West African region as well as joining others to bringing peace and security to the region.
President Buhari said; “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 continent. Nigeria will deal with this issue and global peace.’’
The 76th session of the General Assembly began on the 14th of September, 2021 to end on the 27th of September, 2021.
