Vice President Kashim Shettima has restated Nigeria’s firm opposition to nuclear weapons testing, declaring that the country has no business engaging in nuclear arms development amid rising socio-economic challenges.
He made the declaration on Monday when he received a delegation from the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organisation (CTBTO), led by its Executive Secretary, Dr. Robert Floyd, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Shettima said Nigeria and other African nations are currently battling pressing issues such as poverty, insecurity, and climate-related threats, which require urgent and focused attention rather than the pursuit of nuclear armament.
“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,” the Vice President said.
“We have no business dabbling in anything that has to do with nuclear weapons.”
He further commended CTBTO for its contributions beyond disarmament, particularly in early detection of tsunamis, earthquakes, and other natural disasters, which he described as vital to environmental stability and public safety.
