Nigeria Demands Permanent UN Security Council Seat and ‘Moment of Truth’ Reforms as Global Body Marks 80th Anniversary

Nigeria has called for a renewed commitment to multilateralism and sweeping reforms of the United Nations (UN) as the global body marks its 80th anniversary in October 2025. The nation reiterated its longstanding demand for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, arguing that the UN must “discover its true relevance” by reflecting the world as it is today, not as it was in 1945.

Speaking on behalf of the Nigerian Government, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Dunoma Umar, stressed that the anniversary must serve as a “moment of truth” to evaluate how the UN can more effectively address current global challenges.

“When the UN was founded, we were a colony of 20 million people, absent from the tables where decisions about our fate were taken; today, we are a sovereign nation of well over 200 million,” Umar noted, underscoring Nigeria’s drastically changed global status.

The call for a permanent seat on the Security Council was described not just as a national ambition but as “a demand for fairness, for continental equitable representation, and for reform that projects credibility to the very institution upon which the hope of multilateralism rests.”

The Nigerian government also used the platform to champion broader institutional reforms, including:

1. Urgent action to promote sovereign debt relief for emerging economies.
2. Ensuring resource-rich nations benefit from their critical minerals through local processing and investment.
3. A dedicated initiative to close the digital divide.

The government affirmed Nigeria’s commitment to global peace and human rights, highlighting its participation in 51 out of 60 UN peacekeeping operations since independence. Furthermore, Nigeria stressed that a two-state solution remains the only dignified path to lasting peace for Israel and Palestine, condemning violence against all civilians. The nation’s message to the global community was clear: “None of us is safe until all of us are safe.”