Vice-President Kashim Shettima will represent President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and lead Nigeria’s delegation to the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, the Presidency said on Sunday.
The announcement, issued by Stanley Nkwocha, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications in the Office of the Vice-President, ends weeks of uncertainty over whether the President would travel to the United States for the high-level week. Mr Shettima will head a delegation that includes Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State, Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State, ministers and other senior government officials.
The General Debate of the 81st session is scheduled from 22 to 28 September 2026 under the theme “Restoring trust, managing transformation: A United Nations that delivers for all.” Mr Shettima will deliver Nigeria’s national statement, setting out the country’s positions on peace and security, economic growth, national development and international cooperation.
The Vice-President is also expected to take part in high-level meetings during the week, including discussions on the Right to Development and climate action, issues the statement described as of strategic importance to Nigeria and the African continent. A high-level meeting to mark the 40th anniversary of the Declaration on the Right to Development and a meeting on climate action and the just transition are both listed for 23 September.
Mr Shettima will join other heads of delegation at the traditional reception and hold bilateral talks with foreign leaders, international organisations and development partners. The Presidency said the engagements would advance President Tinubu’s economic diplomacy, deepen partnerships and strengthen Nigeria’s voice on reform of the global financial architecture, sustainable development, climate finance and multilateral cooperation. The Vice-President is expected to return to Nigeria once the New York programme is complete.
The decision stands in contrast to assurances given in July by Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Jimoh Ibrahim. After meeting the President at the Presidential Villa, Mr Ibrahim told State House correspondents that Mr Tinubu had confirmed he would attend the 81st session in person. He said the President would deliver a speech on the administration’s reform record and take part in selected side events on energy, education and hospital management.
Mr Ibrahim also said Mr Tinubu would sit “very close” to United States President Donald Trump in the front row of the General Assembly Hall. He declined to confirm a formal bilateral meeting but presented the seating as arranged. A source familiar with the plans later told Nigerian newspapers that the two leaders could be only a few seats apart.
Mr Tinubu last addressed the General Assembly in person at the 78th session in 2023. Mr Shettima represented him at the 79th and 80th sessions in 2024 and 2025. The President had been on a three-week stay in Europe and was due back in Nigeria around the date of Sunday’s statement. Until the Vice-President’s office issued the mandate, the Presidency had not publicly settled the question of who would speak for Nigeria in New York.
By Chuks Igbo -International Correspondence
