Victor Ezeja
The Nigerian government has declared that the country was not on the ballot for the United Nations General Assembly election held on 9 October.
Prime Business Africa reports that on 9 October 2024, the United Nations General Assembly elected 18 members to the Human Rights Council for the 2025-2027 term.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelPresident Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said in a statement on Sunday, 13 October that contrary to reports, the country was not snubbed in the election.
The statement said that any votes attributed to Nigeria in the election, was cast in error by other nations who perhaps thought that the country was participating in the election.
The statement explained that as obtainable in elections into international organisations such as Human Rights Council, countries vying for positions usually receive regional endorsements.
It said that the West Africa regional bloc, ECOWAS, endorsed Benin and Gambia (who are members), while at continental level, Benin, Gambia, Kenya, DRC, and Ethiopia, were endorsed for the 2025-2027 term and they successfully secured the five available seats.
The statement said: “There was no competition in the African regional group, as the continent fielded the same number of candidates as available seats.
“Contrary to information circulating, Nigeria was not snubbed in this election, as some reports have falsely claimed.
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“The country did not stand as a candidate for this cycle of elections, just like it did not stand for election in 2023 when a Nigerian medium sensationally reported that the country earned three votes.”
“The same lie was rehashed in the erroneous report in circulation. Again, we restate that Nigeria was not on the ballot in the election held on 9 October. Whatever vote was recorded for our country must have been cast in error in the secret balloting by some countries which thought Nigeria was on the ballot.”
The presidency explained that Nigeria focused on supporting the endorsed candidates (countries) to promote collective African representation in line with its leadership posture and commitment to fostering African unity.
The Council which is an intergovernmental body within the UN system, consists of 47 States tasked with promoting and protecting human rights globally.
The members elected to the Council are Benin, Bolivia, Colombia, Cyprus, Czechia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Gambia, Iceland, Kenya, Marshall Islands, Mexico, North Macedonia, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Spain, Switzerland and Thailand.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with seven years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Master's degree in Mass Communication.
