President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will not attend the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, confirming weeks of speculation after the Presidency said he would return to Nigeria following a three-week vacation in Europe.
In a Sunday statement, Stanley Nkwocha, spokesman to the Vice President, said Tinubu had directed Vice President Kashim Shettima to lead Nigeria’s delegation to the event. Shettima will be joined by Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State, Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State, ministers and other senior officials.
The announcement contradicts an earlier statement from Jimoh Ibrahim, Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the UN, who had said Tinubu would attend and that arrangements had been made for him to sit near US President Donald Trump. The Presidency had otherwise stayed silent on the President’s plans.
The General Debate runs from September 22 to 28 under the theme “Restoring trust, managing transformation: A United Nations that delivers for all.” Shettima will deliver Nigeria’s national statement and take part in high-level meetings on the Right to Development, climate action and other issues affecting Nigeria and Africa, before returning to Nigeria at the close of his engagements.
This marks the third consecutive UN General Assembly Tinubu has missed since taking office in 2023.
