Nigeria Renews Push For Permanent UN Security Council Seat At UNGA81

• Vice-President Kashim Shettima is leading Nigeria’s diplomatic campaign at the 81st United Nations General Assembly, with the country set to renew its demand for permanent African representation on the UN Security Council and advocate wider reforms of the global multilateral system.

• Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, and Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Jimoh Ibrahim, briefed Shettima on the country’s priorities, including reforms aimed at making international institutions more responsive to the interests and development needs of developing countries.

• The campaign comes as UN Secretary-General António Guterres backs permanent African representation on the Security Council and calls for an overhaul of global financial institutions, while demanding an end to the extraction and export of Africa’s critical minerals without sufficient local value addition.

• Nigeria will also use the high-level UNGA engagements to attract international investment into strategic sectors, including solid minerals, energy, infrastructure, agriculture and technology, while advancing its positions on peace and security, climate action, development and global financial reform.

September 22, () – Nigeria is set to renew its campaign for permanent representation on the United Nations Security Council as Vice-President Kashim Shettima leads the country’s engagements at the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Shettima, who is representing President Bola Tinubu at the General Assembly, is expected to use a series of high-level meetings and forums to advance Nigeria’s position on reforming the UN system, securing stronger development outcomes for developing countries and attracting greater international investment into the country.

The priorities were outlined after Foreign Affairs Minister Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu and Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Jimoh Ibrahim, briefed the Vice-President on the country’s agenda and strategic engagements for the UNGA high-level week.

According to Stanley Nkwocha, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications, Office of the Vice-President, the delegation would build on positions Nigeria had advanced during previous UN engagements, particularly its advocacy for reforms capable of making multilateral institutions more representative and responsive to developing countries.

He said Shettima would convey President Tinubu’s positions across several high-level forums during the General Assembly.

“The Vice-President will, at all the forums, present President Tinubu’s message across different sectors, including Nigeria’s push for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council”, Nkwocha stated.

Nigeria’s renewed campaign for a permanent seat on the Security Council comes against the backdrop of long-standing calls by African countries for the restructuring of the UN’s most powerful decision-making body.

The 15-member Security Council currently has five permanent members (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States),  all of which possess veto powers. The remaining 10 members are elected by the General Assembly for two-year terms.

Africa, despite having 54 UN member states and being a major focus of the council’s peace and security agenda, does not have a permanent seat.

Nigeria has consistently supported the African Union’s position that the continent’s historical exclusion from permanent membership is no longer consistent with contemporary geopolitical realities.

The broader African campaign seeks permanent representation for the continent on the Security Council as part of a wider reform of the UN system. The question of whether and how African representation should be structured remains part of the continuing intergovernmental negotiations on Security Council reform.

The issue is receiving renewed attention at the current UNGA after Secretary-General Guterres again backed permanent African representation.

Speaking at the fifth annual Global Africa Business Initiative, known as “Unstoppable Africa”, in New York, Guterres said Africa needed permanent seats on the Security Council to enable the continent to contribute more fully to global peace, dialogue and decision-making.

The UN chief has repeatedly argued that the composition of global institutions should reflect present-day realities rather than the power structures that existed when many of the institutions were established.

Earlier this year, Guterres described the absence of permanent African seats on the Security Council as “indefensible”, stressing that the world had changed significantly since the establishment of the UN in 1945.

Guterres Backs Africa’s Resource Agenda

The renewed Nigerian campaign also coincides with Guterres’ call for a fundamental change in the way Africa’s natural resources, particularly critical minerals, are exploited.

At the Unstoppable Africa gathering, the UN Secretary-General called for an end to the export of African minerals primarily as raw materials, arguing that the continent should retain more of the economic value generated from its resources.

He said Africa’s vast natural wealth should create jobs, skills, industries and broader economic opportunities for Africans instead of being extracted and processed elsewhere.

Guterres also called for reforms to the international financial architecture, arguing that global financial institutions need to become more responsive to developing countries, particularly those in Africa.

The UN chief linked the resource question to Africa’s growing economic importance, pointing to the continent’s large mineral reserves, expanding workforce, renewable-energy potential, technology sector and growing consumer market.

He cited developments in several African countries, including renewable-energy expansion in Kenya, drone technology in Rwanda and advances in artificial intelligence in Tunisia, as evidence of the continent’s expanding economic and technological capabilities.

Guterres said Africa’s economy grew by 4.4 per cent last year despite conflicts and turbulence in the global economy, while trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area was on course to reach about $230 billion in 2026.

He nevertheless warned that global conflicts, unpredictable tariffs and competition for critical minerals were disrupting food, fertiliser, fuel and other supply chains.

Nigeria Targets Investment, Economic Partnerships

Against this background, the Nigerian delegation is expected to use the UNGA platform not only for diplomatic advocacy but also to strengthen economic partnerships and attract international investment.

According to the briefing to Shettima, Nigeria will engage governments, international organisations, businesses and development partners during the high-level week.

The country intends to promote investment opportunities in solid minerals, energy, infrastructure, agriculture and technology, among other sectors.

The emphasis on critical minerals is particularly significant as countries and companies around the world compete for access to resources required for renewable energy, advanced manufacturing and other emerging technologies.

Nigeria has sought to position its mineral resources as part of its broader economic diversification strategy, with greater local processing and value addition expected to increase the contribution of the sector to jobs, industrial development and government revenue.

Ambassador Ibrahim said Nigeria’s participation would focus substantially on reforms capable of improving the practical impact of multilateral institutions on member states.

He said reforms should ensure that international policies and resources translate into measurable improvements in the lives of citizens.

Shettima To Deliver Nigeria’s National Statement

Shettima is scheduled to deliver Nigeria’s national statement during the General Debate of the 81st UN General Assembly, where Nigeria is scheduled to speak fourth during Thursday afternoon’s session.

His address is expected to set out Nigeria’s positions on international peace and security, sustainable development, global financial reform, climate action and multilateral cooperation.

The Vice-President is leading a high-level Nigerian delegation that includes senior government officials and state governors.

Nigeria’s Permanent Representative, Ibrahim, has also stressed that the country remains fully represented at the General Assembly despite Tinubu’s absence. He said more than 60 per cent of countries scheduled to speak at the session are being represented by vice-presidents or foreign ministers.

The 81st UNGA General Debate runs from September 22 to 28, 2026, under the theme, “Restoring trust, managing transformation: A United Nations that delivers for all.”