Tuggar Urges Global Governance Reform at EU-AU Ministerial Meeting.
By Caroline Ameh
Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, has called for urgent reforms of global multilateral institutions, citing their current structural weaknesses as contributors to insecurity, underdevelopment, and instability worldwide.
Tuggar made the remarks during the European Union–African Union Ministerial Follow-Up Committee meeting and the 3rd EU–AU Ministerial Meeting in Brussels. His position was conveyed in a statement issued by his Special Assistant on Media and Communications Strategy, Alkasim Abdulkadir.
“The international framework that underpins multilateralism is more fragile today than ever before,” Tuggar said, warning that failure to implement meaningful reforms risks worsening current global crises.
He identified a range of critical issues, including the proliferation of small arms, climate change, violent extremism, irregular migration, and the erosion of democratic norms. Tuggar criticized the tendency of the international community to rely on “recycled talking points,” arguing that the lack of substantive action has deepened existing problems.
Despite the concerns, Tuggar reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to multilateral cooperation, referencing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Nigeria’s involvement in the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the economic integration initiatives led by ECOWAS.
He also reiterated Nigeria’s long-standing call for reform of the United Nations, fairer global trade systems, and equitable access to international financing mechanisms. “Agencies only survive when they adapt,” he said.
Tuggar further addressed the rise of populism and hate speech globally, accusing international actors of applying double standards in addressing online incitement. “We were told hate speech in Africa was the price of freedom; when it happens here, arrests follow,” he said.
The minister concluded by urging world leaders to maintain fairness, integrity, and consistency in the application of international norms. “Truth is not a supermarket to be picked or discarded according to taste,” he added.
