UNGA presidency: Nigeria remains unopposed

Nigeria remains unopposed in its bid for the presidency of the 74th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

Ms Monica Gravley, spokesperson to the President of the outgoing 73rd UNGA, Ms Maria Espinosa, disclosed this to UN correspondents in New York on Thursday.

Our correspondent reports that the country is represented in the race by its Permanent Representative to the UN, Prof. Tijani Mohammed-Bande.

Mohammed-Bande, a Professor of Political Science and former Director-General of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), formally announced his bid in New York on Saturday.

Election for the 74th UNGA president, which is zoned to Africa, will take place at the UN headquarters in New York on June 4.

An informal interactive session with candidates for the position is scheduled for Monday also in New York, and would be webcast through UN WebTV

According to Gravley, the session will be led by Espinosa, an Ecuadorian, whose one-year tenure as President of the 73th UNGA ends in September.

Earlier in a letter to member states of the Assembly, Espinosa explained that the informal dialogues were aimed at “contributing to the transparency and inclusivity of the process’’.

This, she said, is in line with Resolution 71/323 of the General Assembly, and gives candidates the opportunity to present their vision statements and plans for the future presidency.

UNGA is one of the six principal organs of the UN, the only one in which member nations have equal representation.

All 193 members of the United Nations are members of the General Assembly, with the addition of Holy See and Palestine as observer states

It is the main deliberative, policy-making and representative organ of the UN.

Its powers include overseeing the UN budget, appointment of the non-permanent members to the Security Council, and appointment of the UN Secretary-General.