UN visits Nigeria, others today over COVID-19 pandemic

•TETFund foresees better education sector in 2021

A United Nations (UN) delegation, led by Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, will today, visit Nigeria, Niger, Sierra Leone a post-COVID-19 recovery.

A statement by Director, United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) Nigeria, Ronald Kayanja, and National Information Officer, Oluseyi Soremekun, said during their stay that covers November 8 to 11, 2020, Mohammed would relate with President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on mutual diplomacy.

She is also to join Osinbajo in launching the “Nigeria UN Plus Offer For Socio-Economic Recovery – 2020 -2022”, for immediate and medium-term support in response to the socio-economic challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The former Nigerian minister is also to align with the Minister of Women Affairs to launch the “Generation Equality campaign in Nigeria to raise awareness about the Agenda of the Beijing Platform for Action and foster inter-generational exchange and dialogue to empower a new generation of women’s rights activists.”

Other members of the delegation are Mohamed Ibn Chambas, Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Head of United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS); Hannah Tetteh, Special Representative of the Secretary-General to the African Union and Head of the United Nations Office to the African Union (UNOAU); Cristina Duarte, Special Adviser of the Secretary-General on Africa and Ahunna Eziakonwa, Assistant Administrator/Director, Regional Bureau for Africa, United Nations Development Programme.

Mohammed also chairs the United Nations Sustainable Development Group.

HOWEVER, Chairman, Board of Trustees of Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Kashim Imam, has said education sector would get a boost in 2021 budget, the COVID-19 outbreak notwithstanding.

MEANWHILE, management of University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) has pleaded with TETFund to assist in swift reopening of academic works. Noting that President Muhammed Buhari had increased research grant from N5 billion to N7.5 billion, Imam, at the weekend in Port Harcourt, held:

“We are encouraged by all that we have seen, we at TEDFUND, are determined to prove that public agencies can work, we can get value for money, this is one of the laudable achievements of the Federal Government, and it is worthy of note that there is so much that has been achieved, and TETFund has been part of it.”