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Reiterates demands for permanent seats at Security Council
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Demands end to wars, restructuring of financing architecture
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President Bola Tinubu has demanded a fundamental restructuring of the United Nations, declaring that the world in 2026 cannot continue to operate under a global power arrangement designed in 1945.
Tinubu, in a major diplomatic push for Africa’s greater representation in global decision-making, specifically demanded at least two permanent seats for Africa on the UN Security Council, with full rights and responsibilities including veto power, as well as five non-permanent seats for the continent.
The President made the demand in his address to the General Debate of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, United States, delivered on his behalf by Vice President Kashim Shettima.
He argued that Africa could no longer remain central to the UN’s agenda while being excluded from the Council’s permanent membership.
“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. Africa cannot continue to fill the Council’s agenda while remaining absent from its permanent membership,” Tinubu said.
He said Nigeria’s demand was consistent with the Ezulwini Consensus and the Sirte Declaration, both of which provide the framework for Africa’s position on reform of the UN Security Council.
“Nigeria demands, in accordance with the Ezulwini Consensus and the Sirte Declaration, at least two permanent seats for Africa, with all the rights and responsibilities of permanent membership, including the veto for as long as it exists, and five non-permanent seats in total,” he said.
“The authority to speak for humanity carries an obligation to represent it.”
The President also used the global platform to call for an immediate end to warfare and renewed adherence to the UN Charter, warning against the growing resort to unilateral action and nationalism.
He said the persistence of conflicts across the world had reinforced the original reason for establishing the United Nations – preventing future generations from suffering the devastation of war.
“The persistence of conflict across the world recalls the purpose for which the United Nations was founded: to spare succeeding generations the devastation of war. We must therefore return to the founding principles of dialogue, mutual respect and collective responsibility,” he said.
Tinubu said Nigeria remained committed to a rules-based international system in which diplomacy and international law prevailed over coercion and unilateral use of power.
“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 declared.
He cited Nigeria’s contributions to peacekeeping and conflict resolution in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Darfur, Mali and The Gambia as evidence of the country’s willingness to shoulder responsibility for peace and stability in Africa.
According to him, Nigeria continues to deploy regional mechanisms through the Economic Community of West African States, the African Union and Gulf of Guinea partnerships to promote mediation, democratic governance, counter-terrorism and maritime security.
Tinubu also called for a radical reform of the international financial architecture, arguing that developing countries require greater access to concessional financing and debt arrangements that take their development needs into account.
He identified inadequate financing as one of the major obstacles to sustainable development, noting that debt-servicing obligations were consuming resources that could otherwise be deployed to education, healthcare and infrastructure.
“One of the greatest obstacles to sustainable development is inadequate financing,” the President said.
He said Nigeria was pursuing its own development objectives through macroeconomic management, stronger institutions, private-sector growth and strategic public investment.
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Tinubu maintained that Nigeria’s economic progress could not be separated from wider African development and global stability.
On climate change, the President rejected what he described as a false choice between economic development and climate action.
He said developing countries must be allowed to industrialise, reduce poverty and expand energy access through low-carbon pathways supported by technology transfer and climate finance.
Tinubu reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to the Paris Agreement and a fair energy transition, while stressing the disproportionate climate burden borne by Africa.
“Africa bears a heavy climate burden despite contributing under 4 per cent of global emissions,” he said.
He said Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan remained targeted at achieving net-zero emissions by 2060 while expanding access to affordable, reliable and sustainable energy.
The President also drew from Nigeria’s experience in confronting Boko Haram, ISWAP and other armed groups to argue that security threats increasingly transcend national borders.
“No nation, however formidable its defences, can secure itself completely against dangers sustained beyond its borders,” he said.
He said terrorism and cyberattacks continued to exploit gaps in international cooperation, but argued that military action alone could not deliver lasting security without education, economic opportunity, accountable governance and respect for human rights.
As a founding member of ECOWAS, Tinubu said Nigeria remained prepared to support regional efforts to address security challenges through African leadership and international partnerships.
He also called for urgent diplomatic action to resolve conflicts in Sudan and other war-torn countries, citing their humanitarian, economic and geopolitical consequences.
The President further declared that Nigeria would not allow fear to dictate its technological future, particularly in the area of artificial intelligence.
He described AI as a tool driven by human intent and said Nigeria was expanding digital public infrastructure, broadband deployment and technology entrepreneurship to harness its potential for development.
On global governance, Tinubu said the reforms being demanded were ultimately aimed at making international institutions more representative, effective and responsive to contemporary realities.
He warned against a global environment in which propaganda could obscure accountability for aggression and make establishing the truth increasingly difficult.
“We should all be afraid of a world in which we can no longer tell the victim from the aggressor. When our investment in propaganda shields perpetrators from justice to the point that telling the truth becomes a crime, the promise of this institution stands betrayed,” he said.
Tinubu concluded by urging member states to use the UN General Assembly to renew their commitment to multilateralism and a more inclusive international order.
“A reformed, inclusive and effective United Nations is indispensable to the peaceful, just and sustainable world that future generations deserve.”
“Whatever our differences, we must remember that humanity is our oldest citizenship, and peace is the inheritance we owe every child,” he added.
