Nigeria’s Muhammad-Bande Takes Over As President – TheNigerialawyer

Ms Maria Espinosa, the President of the 73rd UN General
Assembly, on Monday handed over to Nigeria’s Muhammad-Bande, who
will lead the 74th session of the assembly in the next one
year.

The ceremony, held inside the General Assembly Hall of the UN
headquarters in New York, marked the end of the 73rd session .

The 74th session will formally begin on Tuesday with the
inauguration of Muhammad-Bande, who is the Permanent Representative
of Nigeria to the UN.

The handover ceremony was witnessed by top officials of the UN
led by the Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres.
Nigerian officials, including a presidential team, comprising the
Director-General, National Intelligence Agency (NIA),

Mr Ahmed Abubakar, and presidential spokesman, Mr Garba Shehu,
also witnessed the ceremony.

In a short address, Guterres lauded Espinosa for her strong
leadership, describing her as a “champion for multilateralism”, who
made the UN “relevant to all”.

“I commend her ambitious priorities for this session, which
addressed crucial matters of international impact and concern.

“These include gender equality, migration and refugees, decent
work for all, environmental protection, the rights of people with
disabilities, promoting the voices of young people to advance peace
and security, and revitalising the work of the United Nations.

“The commitment of Espinosa to the environment especially ending
plastic pollution also stands out,” he said.

The UN chief said he looked forward to working with
Muhammad-Bande to advance the organisation’s mission of building
more peaceful and prosperous world.

Earlier in a valedictory press conference, Espinosa said she was
satisfied with her achievements within her one-year tenure.

She said her practice of formally reporting back to member
states every three months, was very useful, especially for the
smaller missions that could cover all the agenda items.

Espinosa said during the 73rd Session, no fewer than 341
resolutions were adopted, making it the highest number in several
years.

She reiterated her call on member states to “read the
resolutions we have adopted again and let´s deliver and implement
them using this norm-setting power of the General Assembly”, she
said.

Espinosa is the first woman to hold the office of the president
of the General Assembly.

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