Tinubu Pushing For Nigeria’s Permanent Seat On UN Security Council, Jimoh Ibrahim Says

President Bola Tinubu is pushing Nigeria’s case for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council, according to Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Jimoh Ibrahim.

Ibrahim said Tinubu was unhappy that Africa still has no permanent member on the council, even though decisions taken there affect conflicts, peacekeeping and global security across the continent.

Speaking during an interview on Channels Television, Ibrahim said the president had raised the issue in his international engagements and wanted reform that gives Africa, and Nigeria in particular, a stronger place in the UN system.

Vanguard quoted Ibrahim as saying Tinubu’s argument was that it was unfair for the UN not to admit any African country into the council’s permanent membership. He said the president’s speeches showed that the absence of Africa from the council’s permanent seats worried him.

The Security Council has five permanent members: the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China. Several African governments have long argued that the structure does not reflect the size and weight of the continent in world affairs.

Ibrahim also pointed to Ghana’s President John Mahama, saying Mahama’s recent work on recognition of the transatlantic slave trade showed how African leaders were pressing harder for global decisions to reflect African concerns.

Channels TV reported that Ibrahim described Tinubu as working to help Nigeria secure the seat, while stressing that the president was concerned about Africa’s non-representation among permanent members.

Sources: Vanguard, Channels TV