Tinubu’s third UNGA absence has sparked debate as Shettima lead Nigeria’s delegation.
NewsOnline Nigeria reports that President Bola Tinubu’s decision not to attend the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York has sparked renewed debate in Nigeria, after the Presidency announced that Vice President Kashim Shettima would lead the country’s delegation.
The development marks the third consecutive year that Tinubu will not personally attend the high-level UNGA session since assuming office in 2023. Shettima represented Nigeria at the 79th and 80th sessions in 2024 and 2025.
The announcement came after Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Jimoh Ibrahim, had said in July that Tinubu would attend the 81st session and that arrangements had been made for him to occupy a seat close to United States President Donald Trump.
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The Presidency subsequently announced that Tinubu had mandated Shettima to lead Nigeria’s delegation to the session, which is holding from September 22 to 28 under the theme, “Restoring trust, managing transformation: A United Nations that delivers for all.”
Shettima is expected to deliver Nigeria’s national statement and participate in high-level meetings and bilateral engagements with world leaders, international organisations and development partners.
The delegation includes Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara, Zamfara State Governor Dauda Lawal, ministers and other senior government officials.
Why Tinubu is absent
Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Jimoh Ibrahim, said there was no cause for concern over Tinubu’s absence, noting that several countries were also being represented by vice presidents or foreign ministers.
Ibrahim said more than 60 per cent of those listed to speak at the session were represented by senior officials rather than their presidents.
He explained that Tinubu would not personally attend because he was currently in France on annual leave, stressing that Nigeria would remain fully represented at the General Assembly.
“The absence of the President should not be interpreted as Nigeria being inadequately represented,” Ibrahim said.
A presidential aide on foreign affairs and protocol, Ademola Osodi, has also said the President’s decision was connected to his focus on domestic priorities and other international engagements.
Atiku demands explanation
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has, however, questioned Tinubu’s repeated absence from the UNGA, arguing that the President’s personal participation at the gathering provides opportunities for direct diplomatic and economic engagements.
In a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said Tinubu’s absence from the 2024, 2025 and 2026 sessions required an explanation.
Atiku also questioned the earlier announcement that Tinubu would sit close to Trump, asking why the arrangement was made if the President ultimately would not attend.
He further raised questions about Nigeria’s reported engagement of Washington-based DCI Group in a lobbying arrangement valued at up to $9 million, arguing that the expenditure raised questions about the administration’s diplomatic strategy.
Publicly reported US Foreign Agents Registration Act filings indicate that the Federal Government’s initial six-month engagement with DCI Group was valued at $4.5 million, with provisions that could take the arrangement to $9 million.
Debate over US legal history
Atiku also referred to Tinubu’s 1993 US forfeiture case, raising questions about whether controversies surrounding the matter could have influenced the President’s decision not to travel to the United States.
Court records from the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois show that $460,000 held in an account in Bola Tinubu’s name was ordered forfeited to the United States in 1993. The court order stated that the funds represented proceeds of narcotics trafficking or were involved in financial transactions in violation of specified US laws.
Atiku, however, acknowledged that he was not claiming that Tinubu was legally prohibited from entering the United States. He called for clarification from the Presidency on whether any legal, diplomatic, medical or personal consideration was behind the repeated absence.
The allegations circulating online that Tinubu’s decision was connected to US President Donald Trump’s recent executive order concerning foreign drug cartels have not been established by the Presidency or other official sources cited in the reports.
The controversy has nevertheless generated reactions across social media, with Nigerians expressing differing views on whether the President should personally attend the UNGA or whether representation by the Vice President adequately serves Nigeria’s diplomatic interests.
For now, Shettima is leading Nigeria’s delegation, while the Presidency and Nigeria’s UN mission maintain that the country will participate fully in the proceedings and diplomatic engagements surrounding the 81st UN General Assembly.
