President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has demanded at least two permanent seats for Africa on the United Nations Security Council, insisting that the continent must enjoy full membership rights, including veto power for as long as the privilege remains in operation.
According to him, the council, created after the Second World War, no longer reflected current global realities and could not command lasting legitimacy while Africa remains excluded from permanent membership.
Tinubu made the demand Thursday in Nigeria’s national statement delivered by Vice President Kashim Shettima at the General Debate of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
The session, held under the theme, “Restoring Trust, Managing Transformation: A United Nations That Delivers for All,” brought together heads of state, heads of government and delegations from across the world.
The president also called for sweeping reforms of the international financial system, predictable climate financing, responsible deployment of Artificial Intelligence, stronger cooperation against terrorism and urgent diplomatic intervention in Sudan and other conflict zones.
Placing Security Council reform at the heart of Nigeria’s presentation, the president said: “The reform of this institution must begin with the reconstitution of the Security Council, for the world of 2026 cannot remain captive to the distribution of power in 1945,” adding “Africa cannot continue to fill the Council’s agenda while remaining absent from its permanent membership.”
He demanded at least two permanent seats for Africa, with all the rights and responsibilities enjoyed by the council’s existing permanent members, calling for five non-permanent seats for the continent.
Tinubu demands two permanent UN Security Council seats for Africa The demand, he said, was consistent with the Ezulwini Consensus and the Sirte Declaration, which set out Africa’s common position on the reform of the Security Council.
“The authority to speak for humanity carries an obligation to represent it,” the president said. He said that the United Nations’ credibility depended on its willingness to correct a structure that excluded an entire continent of more than 1.4 billion people from permanent participation in its most powerful decision-making organ.
The president said Nigeria was prepared to assume greater international responsibility based on its decades of contributions to peacekeeping, mediation, democratic stability and regional security.
He recalled Nigeria’s commitment of personnel and resources to peace operations in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Darfur, Mali and The Gambia, saying the country had consistently acted whenever international solidarity demanded practical intervention.
President Tinubu said Nigeria would continue to work through the Economic Community of West African States, the African Union and Gulf of Guinea partnerships to advance mediation, democratic governance, counter-terrorism and maritime security.
“Nigeria stands ready to assume greater responsibility on the strength of obligations honoured and sacrifices made over decades in the service of peace,” he said.
He reaffirmed the country’s commitment to the UN Charter and the principles uponwhich the international organisation was established, and warned that wars and instability could no longer be regarded as distant problems because their economic, humanitarian and security consequences frequently crossed national borders.
“Nigeria stands by the Charter and its promise of a world in which diplomacy prevails over coercion, cooperation over isolation and international law over the arbitrary exercise of power,” he said.
According to him, the persistence of armed conflicts worldwide underscored the need to return to dialogue, mutual respect and collective responsibility.
