Ki-Moon honours slain colleagues at UN House, decries terror
Bank Ki-moon briefs the General Assembly. PHOTO:www.un.org
TWO days to the fourth anniversary of the bombing of the United Nations (UN) House in Abuja, the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon yesterday laid a wreath at the global body’s premises to commemorate the terror attack.
The attack by Boko Haram on August 27, 2011 killed 23 UN workers and injured many others.
Meanwhile, the Permanent Secretary of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr. John Chukwu, has assured Ki-Moon, that the Federal Government will handover the damaged UN Common Building in six months.
Chukwu gave the assurance shortly after laying a wreath in honour of the victims of the bomb attack on the UN House.
He said the Federal Government would do everything possible to ensure that the renovation and reconstruction work was completed within the period of six months.
Also, rising from behind a closed door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the State House yesterday, Ki-Moon called for the unconditional release of the over 200 Chibok schoolgirls abducted in April 2014.
In a related development, Buhari has accepted an invitation from Ki-moon to a meeting of world leaders in New York which is expected to formulate a fresh plan of action against extremism.
President Barack Obama and his France counterpart Francois Hollande are also expected to participate in the September 28 meeting which will, among other things deliberate on a new UN draft resolution on combating extremism worldwide.
Ki-Moon also stressed that protecting the girl-child is one of the key approaches that would prevent them (girls) against early marriages.
The UN boss, who stated this yesterday in Abuja when he visited the Garki Junior Secondary School (GJSS), Abuja, where he met with the principal, staff and students of the school, said: “Education for girls is one of the best strategies for protecting girls against child marriage and prepare them for better future.’’
And to ensure the realisation of the 2030 target for the identified 17 Sustainable Development Goals, the UN has urged business and philanthropy leaders to forge a tripartite partnership involving the government, business communities and private sector as well as the civil society.
Ki-Moon said: “We pay tribute to the 23 fallen colleagues, women and men, who were so brutally stolen from us. We reaffirm our commitment to keep faith with their families.
“Our fallen colleagues and partners will be remembered this morning with moments of silence in many places. “But nowhere are the memories of these colleagues more immediate, more vivid and more compelling than here in