Nigeria seeks US support on G20, UN security council slots

The Federal Government on Tuesday asked for the support of the United States on its membership in the G20  and a seat on the United Nations Security Council.

President Bola Tinubu made the request on Tuesday at a bilateral meeting with the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Addressing a joint press briefing after the bilateral discussions, Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, said the discussions bordered on agriculture, food security, pharmaceuticals, security and Artificial Intelligence.

Tuggar argued that Nigeria, being Africa’s largest economy, deserves to represent the African voice on the UN Security Council as 60 per cent of resolutions passed by the UNSC are Africa-related.

“It is also important to note that President Tinubu brought up the issue of Nigeria’s membership and participation in the G20 as well as the United Nations Security Council,” he said.

Tuggar also disclosed that the bilateral talks included definite decisions on other issues, including the upcoming Nigeria-US binational commission holding between March 11 -13, 2024.

“We’re all aware Nigeria is the most populous nation on the African continent. It has the largest economy and therefore the President will use the 4D Nigeria’s foreign policy agenda of Democracy, Development, diaspora and demography.

“We feel it is necessary and deem it fit for Nigeria to be represented in these decision-making bodies as many as 60 per cent of the resolutions passed by the UN Security Council, in one way or the other, related to Africa, so Africa needs to be represented,” he added.

In September 2022,  Tinubu participated in the G-20 summit in New Delhi, India.

G-20, called Group of 20, is an intergovernmental summit comprising 19 countries and the European Union. It is aimed to address significant issues related to the global economy, such as international financial stability, climate change mitigation and sustainable development.

The Group consist of Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, South Korea, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union.