Vice President Kashim Shettima has arrived in New York, United States, to represent President Bola Tinubu and lead Nigeria’s delegation to the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), scheduled to hold from September 22 to 28, 2026.
Shettima is expected to coordinate Nigeria’s participation at the gathering, where discussions will focus on international cooperation, economic development, global governance and reforms to multilateral institutions.
“Our message in New York is clear: Nigeria believes in multilateralism, but the institutions that govern our world must become more representative, equitable and responsive to the realities of today,” Shettima said.
He added that Nigeria would engage international partners from the standpoint of its national interest while supporting reforms that give developing countries a stronger voice in global decision-making.
Nigeria’s delegation is expected to take part in high-level meetings involving world leaders, government representatives, development partners and international organisations, at a gathering that provides a platform for countries to negotiate responses to global challenges ranging from peace and security to climate action and development.
Presidency Says Tinubu Is Focused On Domestic Priorities
The Senior Special Assistant to President Tinubu on Foreign Affairs and Protocol, Ademola Osodi, said the President’s decision to stay away from UNGA is linked to his focus on domestic priorities and other international engagements, rather than a reduction in Nigeria’s diplomatic standing.
“Nigeria has a diverse interest in all regional groups, continental groups and even groups of the South-South like the BRICS. So, the United Nations is not the only group that we are member of,” Osodi said on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics.
He clarified that Tinubu is currently concentrating on the economy and security at home while participating in other international engagements he considers important.
“With or without his presence there will not change Nigeria’s role as giant of Africa, the leader of the economic resurgence of Africa,” Osodi said, noting that Nigeria would still have senior representation at the gathering, including its Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Jimoh Ibrahim.
Osodi Dismisses Talk Of Strained Nigeria-US Relations
Osodi also rejected suggestions that Tinubu’s repeated UNGA absence is connected to difficulties between the Nigerian President and the United States, describing the claim as an “old chestnut” and recalling Tinubu’s past US visits.
“I was with the President when he went to the United Nations; physically I was there, you saw it on social media. He went to the stock exchange, he rang the bell, he had meetings on the side,” he said, also recalling a stopover in Los Angeles en route to Japan.
“We were in America, I was there with them. So it is politics, we can talk about this every single election cycle, it is just politics,” he said.
Tinubu’s absence has nonetheless drawn criticism, with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, demanding an explanation for the President’s decision not to attend UNGA for a third consecutive year.
He ridiculed earlier assertions by the president’s handlers that arrangements had been made for him to sit near US President Donald Trump at the gathering, and wondering what then changed.
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