(AFP) - Nigeria on Tuesday demanded a permanent seat for African countries on the United Nations Security Council and called for the cancellation of its debt owed to international lenders.

Currently, the Security Council has five permanent members: the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia and China. All hold a veto on any Security Council resolution.

Addressing the UN's 79th general assembly in New York, Kashim Shettima, vice president of Africa's most populous nation, insisted that the "Security Council should be expanded".

"Our continent deserves a place in the permanent members' category of the Security Council, " said Shettima, representing head of state Bola Tinubu.

That should come "with the same rights and responsibilities as other permanent members", he added -- notably the power of veto.

Speaking to American broadcaster MSNBC, Nigeria's Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar said "Nigeria needs to be in that security council as a permanent member".

Nigeria's continental rival South Africa is also eyeing a seat at the top table.

Earlier in the month, the United States ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said Washington would support the creation of two additional permanent seats for African countries on the Security Council.

However, she said the new entrants would not have the right to veto.

The Nigerian vice president also called for a "reform of the international financial system", urging the cancellation of the debt Nigeria owed to multilateral institutions.

Shettima argued "nationalism" and self-interest were undermining the fight against various global issues, including terrorism, armed conflict, inequality, poverty, racism, debt, hunger and climate change.

He urged UN member states to recommit to multilateralism to "sustain the global body's relevance and resilience".

Shettima also denounced unconstitutional changes of governments in some African countries in recent years -- a reference to coups that have plagued fellow West African countries.

The juntas in Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso came to power in a series of coups over recent years and have pulled out of the regional bloc ECOWAS.

Shettima warned democracy was "fragile" if not supported by peace, security, and economic development.

© Agence France-Presse