Tinubu Skips UNGA For Third Straight Year As Shettima Leads Delegation, Atiku Demands Explanation

The Presidency has confirmed that President Bola Tinubu will not attend the United Nations General Assembly for the third consecutive year, with Vice President Kashim Shettima again heading Nigeria's delegation to the 81st session in New York.

Stanley Nkwocha, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications in the Vice President's office, announced the arrangement. Shettima will lead Nigeria's delegation for the General Debate running from September 22 to 28, held this year under the theme "Restoring trust, managing transformation, A United Nations that delivers for all." He is expected to deliver Nigeria's national statement, take part in high level discussions on the Right to Development and climate action, and hold bilateral meetings with other world leaders before returning home.

The delegation also includes Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara, Zamfara State Governor Dauda Lawal, ministers and other senior government officials. Nkwocha said the engagements would allow Nigeria to advance Tinubu's economic diplomacy, deepen strategic partnerships and strengthen the country's voice on reform of the global financial architecture, sustainable development, climate finance and multilateral cooperation.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, has demanded an explanation from Tinubu over the repeated absence. Speaking through his spokesperson Phrank Shaibu, Atiku noted that Tinubu also missed the 79th UNGA in 2024 and the 80th in 2025, with Shettima representing him on both occasions, and argued the pattern could no longer be dismissed as routine delegation. He described the assembly as one of the world's most important diplomatic gatherings, one that brings together representatives of the UN's 193 member states and gives presidents a platform to defend their countries' interests, negotiate partnerships and shape global decisions on trade, security and development.

The Presidency has rejected the criticism. Ademola Osodi, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and Protocol, told Channels Television's Sunday Politics that Tinubu's absence would not affect Nigeria's role internationally, noting that the President is focused on domestic issues including the economy and security. Osodi said Nigeria maintains diverse interests across regional and continental groups, including blocs like BRICS, and argued the United Nations is not the only forum through which the country's interests are represented.

Osodi also dismissed suggestions that unresolved tension between Tinubu and the United States was behind the pattern, calling the claim an "old chestnut." He said he personally accompanied Tinubu on a prior visit to the United States that included a stop at the New York Stock Exchange, where the President rang the bell and held side meetings, as well as a more recent transit through Los Angeles en route to Japan for engagements with the Japanese Development Agency. He described recurring questions about the President's relationship with Washington as a talking point that resurfaces every election cycle.

Nigeria's new Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Jimoh Ibrahim, will also be present in New York, which Nkwocha said ensures the country remains well represented at the assembly.