President Bola Tinubu has failed to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) 2026, which began on 1 November in St John’s, Antigua and Barbuda, and is scheduled to run until 4 November. Nigeria’s delegation is instead being led by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu Ojukwu.
Tinubu is currently in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, where he arrived around 30 or 31 October to perform the Umrah pilgrimage. He has hosted dinners with governors and senior officials accompanying him, offered prayers for Nigeria’s peace, unity and prosperity, and described the visit as a period of spiritual reflection. The timing coincides with the opening of CHOGM, the first Commonwealth summit hosted in the Caribbean in many years and attended by heads of government from the 56 member states, including King Charles III and Queen Camilla.
This absence continues a clear pattern. Tinubu also did not attend the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September 2026. Vice President Kashim Shettima led Nigeria’s delegation and delivered the national statement. This marked Tinubu’s third consecutive absence from the high level week of the General Assembly after he attended in person only in 2023. Shettima represented him in 2024 and 2025 as well.
He similarly did not honour the Third Russia Africa Summit held in Moscow on 28 and 29 October 2026. Nigeria sent a lower level delegation led by the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye. Reports indicated that Shettima had been expected to lead the team, but the representation was downgraded, and neither the President nor the Vice President attended. Other African leaders, including heads of state, were present.
Major international gatherings Tinubu did not attend in person in the past year
In the period from late 2025 to early November 2026, documented absences from major summits include the following, with representation usually provided by Vice President Shettima:
- G20 Leaders’ Summit, Johannesburg, South Africa, 22 to 23 November 2025. Shettima represented Tinubu. The President remained in Nigeria to address security incidents involving abductions and attacks.
- African Union and European Union Summit, Luanda, Angola, November 2025. Shettima led the Nigerian side after Tinubu postponed the trip.
- 68th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, Abuja, December 2025. Even though the meeting was hosted in Nigeria, Shettima represented Tinubu, who was then the immediate past Chairman of the Authority. Other West African leaders attended in person.
- 18th BRICS Summit, New Delhi, India, September 2026. Shettima represented Tinubu while the President was on an extended working vacation in Europe that included time in London and Paris.
- African Union extraordinary sessions, including the 21st Extraordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government in Luanda, Angola, in August 2026. Shettima represented Nigeria.
- 81st United Nations General Assembly, New York, September 2026, as noted above.
- Third Russia Africa Summit, Moscow, October 2026, as noted above.
- Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, Antigua and Barbuda, November 2026, as noted above.
Tinubu has also been routinely represented by Shettima at various ECOWAS meetings. Critics, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, have described the repeated absences, particularly from the United Nations, as a pattern that requires explanation rather than routine delegation. The Presidency has typically cited domestic priorities, security concerns, annual leave or the constitutional authority of the Vice President to represent the country. Officials have rejected suggestions that the United Nations absences are linked to any travel restrictions involving the United States.
The current combination of a pilgrimage in Mecca and non attendance at CHOGM adds to the list of occasions on which Nigeria’s head of state has not been present at major multilateral gatherings in the past twelve months.
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