THE Federal Government has addressed the issue of Nigeria getting ‘snubbed’ at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) election.

A statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, on Sunday, October 13, said Nigeria did not stand as a candidate for this cycle of elections.

“Contrary to information circulating, Nigeria was not snubbed in this election, as some reports have falsely claimed. The country did not stand as a candidate for this cycle of elections,” the statement read in parts.

The ICIR reports that the UNHRC election was held on October 9 and elected 18 new members with five African countries including, Benin, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Gambia, and Kenya making the list.

They will serve for three years beginning from January 1, 2025.

The incoming members were elected through a secret ballot and will replace the current members whose terms will expire at the end of this year – December 31.

According to Onanuga, the votes recorded for Nigeria was cast out of error due to some countries thinking Nigeria was on the ballot.

“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.

“For those conversant with elections into international organisations, especially to prestigious bodies like the Human Rights Council, countries vying for positions usually receive regional endorsements,” he added.

He further urged the public to not be quick to disparage or drag the country, especially on international matters.

The ICIR reports that the other countries elected into the council are, Bolivia, Colombia, Cyprus, Czech, Iceland, Marshall Islands, Mexico, North Macedonia, Qatar, the Republic of Korea, Spain, Switzerland and Thailand.

The outgoing members include; Argentina, Benin, Cameroon, Eritrea, Finland, Gambia, Honduras, India, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Montenegro, Paraguay, Qatar, Somalia, United Arab Emirates, and the United States.

They were all eligible for immediate re-election except Argentina, Cameroon, Eritrea, India and Somalia who have served for two consecutive terms.

Meanwhile, Albania, Algeria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burundi, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Dominican Republic, France, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Indonesia, Japan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Malawi, Maldives, Morocco, Netherlands, Romania, South Africa, Sudan and Vietnam will continue to be members of the Council.