Nigeria has indicated that its support for the next United Nations Secretary-General will be guided by equity, justice and fairness, with particular consideration for a candidate who supports Africa’s demand for greater representation in global decision-making institutions.
Vice President Kashim Shettima stated this in New York during a meeting with Costa Rica’s candidate for the UN’s top job, Rebeca Grynspan, shortly before returning to Nigeria after leading the country’s delegation to the 81st United Nations General Assembly.
Costa Rica formally nominated Grynspan on March 3, 2026, as one of the candidates seeking to succeed António Guterres as UN Secretary-General.
According to a statement on Monday by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications, Office of the Vice President, Stanley Nkwocha, Shettima said Nigeria would also consider candidates’ commitment to Africa’s aspirations, multilateralism and reform of the global governance architecture.
The Vice President said he would recommend considering Grynspan’s candidature based on Nigeria’s relationship with Latin America, gender inclusion, and other factors.
‘Thank you for seeking Nigeria’s perspective on your candidature for the United Nations Secretary-General. Nigeria and Costa Rica share a common historical background connecting both countries and their regions.
‘We also have a cordial relationship with Latin America, and we do not wish to jeopardise it. Beyond our historical ties and relations rests our interest in conflict prevention, multilateralism, and the peace of our nations’, Shettima said.
He renewed Nigeria’s argument for reform of the global governance architecture, saying the international system had changed significantly between 1945 and 2026 without adequately reflecting Africa’s place and population in major decision-making institutions.
Grynspan, a former Vice President of Costa Rica and experienced UN official, told Shettima that she was seeking Nigeria’s support and was prepared to pursue reforms demanded by developing countries, particularly those in the Global South.
Her candidature and participation in the formal UN selection process have been confirmed by the United Nations.
‘Coming from the Global South, I represent the interests and demands of the region. I also have a soft spot for Africa. I know the continent and its aspirations’, she was quoted as saying.
Grynspan said her agenda would prioritise peace and pledged support for Africa’s longstanding demand for permanent representation on the UN Security Council.
Her campaign platform has also emphasised reform of the UN system, including greater accountability, geographically equitable appointments and stronger partnerships between the organisation, member states and regional institutions.
Meanwhile, Nigeria and the Netherlands have agreed to deepen cooperation on financial inclusion, particularly initiatives targeted at women and vulnerable groups.
The agreement emerged from a separate bilateral meeting between Shettima and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands in New York.
Shettima welcomed the Netherlands’ offer to deploy its expertise and experience in financial health to support Nigeria’s financial inclusion programmes, saying expanded access to financial services was directly connected to education, security and poverty reduction.
He cited the Federal Government’s conditional cash transfer programme and interventions in agriculture among measures being deployed to broaden economic opportunities, adding that Nigeria’s growing fintech industry was also playing an important role in bringing financially excluded citizens into the formal system.
Defending the economic reforms introduced by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, Shettima said they became inevitable because of the condition of the economy inherited by the government in 2023.
Queen Máxima, who also serves as the UN Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Financial Health, according to the State House statement, commended Nigeria’s recent economic growth and pledged Dutch support by sharing expertise in insurance, credit guarantees and data generation.
She said improving financial health would strengthen citizens’ resilience, protect investments and broaden access to insurance, while urging private-sector operators to regard the financial wellbeing of their customers as an important factor in their own long-term growth.
Minister of Finance, Taiwo Oyedele, was also quoted as saying that, alongside existing insurance and pension policies, recent measures announced by the Central Bank of Nigeria would improve the availability and cost of credit.
He said the administration’s financial inclusion drive ultimately aimed to expand opportunities for poor and vulnerable Nigerians and improve their living standards.