KEY POINTS
- Nigeria renews push for Security Council seat.
- Reform and debt relief needed for global stability.
- Mineral wealth must create jobs and fairness.
Nigeria pressed its case for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council, with Vice President Kashim Shettima telling the 80th UN General Assembly in New York that reform is essential to restore credibility to the global body.
Shettima, while speaking on behalf of President Bola Tinubu, said Nigeria’s growing population, peacekeeping record, and regional leadership made it a natural candidate for permanent membership.
Nigeria renews push for Security Council seat
The vice president argued that the UN must reflect the world as it is today, not the post-1945 order. Nigeria, now Africa’s most populous country with more than 236 million people, has participated in 51 UN peacekeeping missions since independence.
Security Council reform key to global relevance
Furthermore Shettima said institutional reform, debt relief, and fairer trade access were vital to strengthening multilateralism. He urged the UN to create binding mechanisms for sovereign debt management and back efforts to close the digital divide, which he described as essential for emerging economies.
Minerals must also drive local jobs and investment
Tinubu’s statement also called for resource-rich countries to benefit fairly from their minerals through investment, processing, and job creation, warning that exporting raw materials fuels inequality and instability.
