Vice President Kashim Shettima has reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), stating that Africa’s immediate priority is addressing poverty and climate change, not nuclear weapons.
He made this known on Monday while receiving the Executive Secretary of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organisation (CTBTO), Dr Robert Floyd, on a courtesy visit to the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
“The outcome of any nuclear conflict is never a win-win situation; it is always the opposite
“We are fighting poverty; we are fighting a war against the relationship between the economy and ecology in sub-Saharan Africa. We have no business dabbling in anything that has to do with nuclear weapons.” He stated
The Vice President commended the CTBTO’s global surveillance network, which has 337 monitoring stations worldwide, noting that all seven nuclear tests conducted by DPR Korea were detected.
He also praised the organisation’s dual-use monitoring capabilities.
“The beauty of CTBTO’s function is that its monitors also serve civilian purposes, especially in assisting us to detect tsunamis and volcanic seismic activities,” Shettima said. “Your functions are contributing to the global stability of our ecology.”
In response, Dr Floyd commended Nigeria’s leadership under President Bola Tinubu for helping to reduce global nuclear testing and for reinforcing global norms against it. He described Nigeria as a natural partner to the CTBTO.
Nigeria’s Role in Global Nuclear Monitoring
Dr Floyd acknowledged the contributions of Nigeria’s focal agencies—the Nigerian Atomic Energy Commission (NAEC) and the Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NNRA)—highlighting their technical expertise and ongoing commitment to the goals of the CTBT.
He emphasised the importance of data generated by the two agencies in saving lives through early detection of natural disasters and monitoring activities harmful to ecological stability.
Acting Chairman of NAEC, Anthony Ekedegwa, noted that Nigeria’s collaboration with the CTBTO has helped build capacity and strengthen nuclear monitoring systems in the country.
Similarly, the Director General of NNRA, Dr Yau Idris, spoke about the agency’s partnership with the CTBTO in promoting global compliance with international nuclear test regulations.
PIAK