Nigeria assumes chairmanship of AU Peace and Security Council

Nigeria has assumed the chairmanship of the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council (PSC) for the month of May 2026. Kimiebi Imomotimi Ebienfa, spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, disclosed this in a statement over the weekend. The last time Nigeria chaired the Council was in December 2022. According to the statement, Nigeria, […]

Nigeria has assumed the chairmanship of the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council (PSC) for the month of May 2026.

Kimiebi Imomotimi Ebienfa, spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, disclosed this in a statement over the weekend.

The last time Nigeria chaired the Council was in December 2022.

According to the statement, Nigeria, being the only AU member state to have been in the council since its inception in the year 2004, will bring institutional memory to the leadership of the Council.

“During the month of May 2026, Nigeria will be leading the esteemed Council on discussions around a number of thematic and country-specific issues of interest to both the West African/Sahel Region and the continent in general.

“Some of the issues that will be considered include: the impact of Climate Change on the crisis situation in the Lake Chad Basin and Sahel regions; African strategies for combating Transnational Organised Crime in Africa; the Draft 5-year AU Continental Counter Terrorism Strategic Plan of Action; operationalisation of the African Standby Force; and the Operationalisation of the Combined Maritime Task Force in addressing Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea; among others,” it added.

The African Union PSC consists of 15 members elected by the Executive Council and endorsed by the AU Assembly, serving two or three-year terms based on regional representation.

The current membership of the AU Peace and Security Council consists of Nigeria, Benin, Gabon, Algeria, Lesotho, Morocco, Somalia, South Africa, Côte d’Ivoire, DRC, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Ethiopia, Cameroon and Eswatini.