Nigeria’s Vice President, Kashim Shettima, has reiterated the country’s demand for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council. Addressing the 80th session of the UN General Assembly in New York, Shettima emphasized that Nigeria’s decades of contributions to global peace missions and its leadership status in Africa make it a strong contender for a permanent seat.
Shettima argued that the current composition of the Security Council no longer reflects the world’s current realities, which date back to 1945. He stressed that Africa deserves fair representation on the UNSC, given its demographic, economic, and geopolitical importance. Nigeria, as Africa’s largest economy and most populous country, is well-positioned to champion African interests.
Nigeria has participated in 51 out of 60 UN peacekeeping operations since its independence in 1960.
Urgent action is required to promote sovereign debt relief and access to trade and emphasized the need for institutional reforms to strengthen peace, development, and human rights globally. He backed debt relief, better trade access, and fairer benefit-sharing for resource-rich nations. The Vice President also endorsed the UN80 Initiative and the July 18 resolution on reforms, calling them vital to restore efficiency and coherence to the UN system
