Last month, foreign ministers from 15 of 53 African countries met in Swaziland and decided that their continent should have two permanent seats on the Security Council but made no decision on which states would be put forward. Adeniji said that a committee would be appointed to vet candidate states at the AU summit in Libya in July.

Africa, along with Brazil, Japan, Germany and India and others, wants the UN to expand the number of veto-wielding seats on the security council. Currently only the nuclear-armed victors of World War II - Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States - have a permanent representation on the council and the power to single-handedly halt a UN resolution.