Date: 2016-12-23

The Kwara State University, Malete has joined Nigerians at home and abroad in congratulating the Minister of the Environment, Amina Mohammed, on her appointment as the United Nations Deputy Secretary-General.

The feat, the University said, no doubt further attests to the global recognition of the Minister as an achiever and a global person of note. The Vice-Chancellor of KWASU, Prof. AbdulRasheed Na'Allah, in a statement from the Office of the University Relations, recalled the Mohammed's scholarly and remarkable presentation at the 6th Conference on Literature in Northern Nigeria, organized by KWASU in collaboration with Bayero University, Kano in 2011.

Na'Allah remarked that not only did she grace the event in person, she also demonstrated uncommon intellectual prowess in her special presentation under the "Gambo Sawaba Lecture on Women Economic Development" series. He said as a University that has continued to gain national and international recognitions, based on its unique programmes, KWASU identifies with the new UN Deputy Secretary-General, whose track record of achievements in the Federal Ministry of the Environment speaks volume for her commitment to serving Nigeria.

Na'Allah further stated that as the University for Community Development, KWASU acknowledges how the outgoing Minister competently coordinated the launch of Ogoniland clean-up project in May 2016, following decades of environmental pollution caused by continuous oil spill in the area.

Na'Allah said the University was confident in her resolve that as directed by President Muhammadu Buhari, she would "continue in the meantime, to lay strong foundations with various important ongoing initiatives critical to the government's success in the Environment sector. These include our Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Climate Agreement, the successful launch of the first Sovereign Green Bonds in 2017, the ongoing Ogoni clean-up and development of the Great Green Wall."

With her enduring contribution to the Millennium Development Goals and the Sustainable Development Goals, the Vice-Chancellor urged the incoming UN Deputy Secretary-General to pursue more vigorously programmes and policies that would promote peace and sustainable development globally. Expressing the Institution's facilitations with the outgoing Minister, the government and people of Nigeria, he declared that as a Research Intensive University, KWASU looks forward to a robust collaboration with Mohammed in the next phase of her service to the country and the rest of the world.