Nigeria’s prominence in international politics was yesterday reinforced when she was elected, along four others, as non-permanent members of the United Nations Security Council for 2010-2011.
The four other counties are Brazil, Gabon, Lebanon and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Africa was allotted two seats that went to Nigeria and Gabon.
Nigeria was elected with 186 votes, along with Gabon, which received 184 votes.
The Security Council is the most important UN decision-making body, with its five permanent members being Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States.
Each of the five permanent members has veto power over its decisions. It is tasked with maintaining international peace and security.
The newly elected five non-permanent members will take their seats on the 15-member council on January 1, replacing Costa Rica, Libya, Uganda, Vietnam and Croatia who will complete their two-year mandate on December 31.
In the Latin America and Caribbean group, Brazil — which already has served nine terms on the council, most recently from 2004-2005, was the only candidate. Brazil was elected with 182 of the 190 votes cast, with seven abstentions, Ali Triki, the president of the 192-member General Assembly, said.
The Security Council’s 10 non-permanent seats are filled by the General Assembly, with five countries elected each year to two-year non-renewable mandates. To secure a seat, a candidate nation has to win two-thirds of votes cast in a secret ballot.
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