Florence Ajimobi appointed Nigeria’s governor on IAEA board

Nigeria’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to Austria and the International Atomic Energy Agency, Dr Florence Ajimobi, has been appointed the country’s Governor on the IAEA Board of Governors for the 2026–2028 term.

Her appointment followed Nigeria’s election to the 35-member Board during the 70th Regular Session of the IAEA General Conference in Vienna, Austria.

This was contained in a statement forwarded to The PUNCH by her media office in Ibadan, Oyo State, on Saturday.

The statement said the appointment would place Ajimobi at the centre of Nigeria’s engagement with one of the IAEA’s principal policy-making organs, where she would participate in deliberations on the agency’s programmes, nuclear safety and security, safeguards, peaceful applications of nuclear science and technology, and international cooperation.

It said, “As Governor for Nigeria, Ajimobi will articulate and advance the country’s positions at meetings of the Board while contributing to discussions on the policy direction and activities of the agency.”

The statement added that Nigeria’s election to the Board and Ajimobi’s appointment would strengthen the country’s engagement with the IAEA and its commitment to the peaceful use of nuclear science and technology for sustainable development.

It said the development would also provide Nigeria with an enhanced platform to deepen international cooperation in areas where nuclear technology could support national development, including healthcare, agriculture, food security, water-resource management and human-capacity development.

The statement said Ajimobi, who serves as Nigeria’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Austria and Permanent Representative to the IAEA and other international organisations in Vienna, would use the assignment to further Nigeria’s interests and strengthen the country’s voice within the global nuclear governance architecture.

The PUNCH reports that Ajimobi is the wife of the late former Oyo State Governor, Abiola Ajimobi, who governed the state from 2011 to 2019 on the platform of the All Progressives Congress.