President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has renewed Nigeria’s call for urgent reforms in the United Nations system, insisting that the UN Security Council must reflect present day realities by granting Nigeria a permanent seat.

Represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, President Tinubu delivered Nigeria’s national statement at the 80th United Nations General Assembly in New York and outlined four key priorities for reform: Security Council expansion, sovereign debt relief, fairer distribution of mineral wealth, and closing the global digital divide.

On Security Council reform, he said Nigeria’s transformation from a colony of 20 million people in 1945 to a sovereign nation of 236 million today with one of the youngest and most dynamic populations makes its case for permanent membership a matter of fairness and global credibility.

Calling for a new International Court of Justice for money, Tinubu urged the creation of binding mechanisms for managing sovereign debt to help developing nations escape economic straitjackets. He also demanded that mineral rich nations, especially in Africa, benefit directly from the wealth of their natural resources through local investment, processing, and job creation.

On technology, the President pressed for urgent action to bridge the digital divide, stressing that “AI must stand for Africa Included” and warned that unequal access would only deepen global inequality and mistrust.

The President also reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to peace and human rights, highlighting the country’s long history of peacekeeping and its experience in fighting terrorism. He restated Nigeria’s support for a two state solution in Palestine, describing it as the most dignified path to peace.

“Nigeria’s commitment to peace, development, multilateralism and human rights is beyond compromise,” he declared, urging world leaders to renew faith in collective action.