Nigeria has told world leaders that inadequate financing is the biggest obstacle to global development. Vice President Kashim Shettima said this on Thursday, September 24, while addressing the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Shettima spoke on behalf of President Bola Tinubu, who did not attend this year’s session. He delivered Nigeria’s national statement at the General Debate, themed “Restoring Trust, Managing Transformation: A United Nations That Delivers For All.”
Shettima’s Key Message
The Vice President said finance must run on equity and shared responsibility, not charity. He argued that international commitments need to turn into funding mechanisms that are accessible, predictable and properly funded. Without this, he said, developing countries cannot pursue climate action without giving up their development goals.
He linked this financing gap directly to the world’s sustainability goals. Developing nations, he said, must industrialise, cut poverty and expand energy access through low-carbon pathways. That takes technology transfer, capacity building and climate finance, all of which depend on money reaching the countries that need it.
Shettima pointed out that Africa produces less than four percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, yet the continent carries a heavier share of the damage. Nigeria, he said, remains committed to the Paris Agreement and to a fair energy transition that reflects who caused the problem and who has the resources to fix it.
He also touched on Nigeria’s own plans. The country is targeting net-zero emissions by 2060 through a mix of renewable energy, clean cooking, gas as a transition fuel, climate-smart agriculture and nature-based solutions.
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Beyond climate financing, Shettima repeated Nigeria’s long-standing demand for two permanent African seats on the UN Security Council, with veto rights, plus five non-permanent seats. He tied this to the Ezulwini Consensus and the Sirte Declaration, both of which set out Africa’s position on Security Council reform.
He called for reform of international financial institutions too, including wider access to concessional financing and debt frameworks that reflect what developing countries actually need.
Shettima’s remarks put a number on a problem developing nations have raised for years. Sustainability targets exist on paper, but many countries lack the money to reach them. If financing stays out of reach, Shettima’s argument is that climate goals and development goals will keep missing their targets together, not separately.
Nigeria used the same platform to push for African manufacturing and industrialisation, arguing the continent needs to move past exporting raw materials and into higher-value production and technology.
What do you think Nigeria’s financing demand means for the rest of Africa? Drop your thoughts below.
Meanwhile; Okpebholo’s fuel price comment has sparked outrage across Nigeria. Continue reading here.
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