Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday dispatched a delegation to New York to drum up support for the country's candidate in the election for the Presidency of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) set for Tuesday June 4.

Prof. Tijjani Muhammad- Bande hopes to be elected to the top UNGA post, and has the Nigerian government's backing.

Should he clinch the position, Prof. Bande will become only the second Nigerian to be elected president of UNGA after Maj. Gen. Joseph Nanven Garba (rtd), who held the position between 1989 and 1990.

According to a statement by the presidency, the delegation dispatched to the UN includes the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Amb. Mustapha Sulaiman, the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency Amb. Ahmed Rufai Abubakar, the Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Technology Development Fund Dr. Bello Aliyu Gusau and Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity Malam Garba Shehu.

The presidency said it was “confident that Nigeria's Presidency of the 74th session of the UN General Assembly will provide a unique opportunity for Nigeria to lead the global call to tackle the political, social, economic and environmental challenges facing the world.”