President Bola Tinubu’s attendance at the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York remains uncertain, with a source familiar with Nigeria’s planned delegation indicating that Vice-President Kashim Shettima may once again lead the country’s delegation.
The Presidency has not publicly confirmed whether Tinubu, who is currently on a three-week vacation in Europe, will travel to New York for the annual gathering of world leaders happening between September 22 and 28, 2026.
However, a document seen by BusinessDay, which contains a list of officials expected to attend the UNGA, does not include the President.
The list, obtained from a source who requested anonymity because they were not authorised to speak publicly on the matter, contains 24 government officials and senior presidential aides.
It includes the National Security Adviser; the Minister of Foreign Affairs; the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice; the Minister of Defence; and the Minister of Solid Minerals Development.
Other officials listed are the ministers of Industry, Trade and Investment; Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy; Budget and Economic Planning; Education; Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction; Health and Social Welfare; Environment; Innovation, Science and Technology; Women Affairs and Social Development; and Information and National Orientation.
The Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, the Chairman/CEO of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), the Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), the Director-General of the Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NNRA) and the Executive Vice-Chairman/CEO of the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) are also listed.
Three senior presidential aides, the Senior Special Assistant to the President (Administration and Operations), Senior Special Assistant to the President (Foreign Affairs and International Relations), and Senior Special Assistant to the President (Sustainable Development Goals), complete the list.
The Presidency, however, hasn’t publicly announced the composition of Nigeria’s UNGA delegation. It has also not confirmed that Tinubu will attend the September 2026 gathering.
The uncertainty comes weeks after Jimoh Ibrahim, Nigeria’s permanent representative to the United Nations, said at the State House in July that Tinubu had agreed to attend the 81st UNGA.
“The President has generously agreed to attend the UNGA meeting of the United Nations,” Ibrahim had said. “It is significant because Mr President has a speech to give to the whole world about the reform success in Nigeria, and that has been slated for September. So Nigeria will be effectively present at UNGA.”
Read also: Tinubu urges BRICS to rewrite rules of global governance, finance
But subsequent announcements from the Presidency have not confirmed a New York trip.
When Bayo Onanuga, special adviser to the President on information and strategy, announced Tinubu’s three-week vacation in Europe late August, the statement said the President would visit the United Kingdom and subsequently return to Nigeria to continue preparations for the 2027 elections. It made no reference to a trip to the United States for UNGA.
Tinubu’s possible absence would mean Shettima representing him at the gathering for the third consecutive year.
The Vice-President represented Tinubu at the 79th and 80th sessions of the General Assembly, making another Shettima-led delegation a potential continuation of the administration’s recent practice.
The development is particularly significant given Nigeria’s foreign-policy and security priorities.
The country is seeking stronger international partnerships to tackle terrorism and other security challenges, while the government is also trying to attract foreign investment and improve Nigeria’s image among international investors and development partners.
The United States remains particularly important to Nigeria’s security strategy.
Nigeria and the US have deepened military and intelligence cooperation, including collaboration against terrorist groups in Nigeria and the Lake Chad region. The development followed heightened tensions over Washington’s assessment of religious violence in Nigeria.
The administration has also invested heavily in its engagement with the US. The Federal Government reportedly hired Washington-based DCI Group for $750,000 monthly, or $9 million annually, to engage American policymakers and communicate Nigeria’s position on security and religious freedom.
The administration’s efforts have included high-level diplomatic and soft-power engagements, including First Lady Remi Tinubu’s attendance at the 74th Annual National Prayer Breakfast on Capitol Hill in February, where US President Donald Trump publicly recognised her.
Trump subsequently praised Tinubu’s leadership in tackling Nigeria’s security challenges in a recent official communication to the Nigerian president.
Against this background, observers have argued that Tinubu’s physical presence at UNGA would provide an opportunity to directly communicate Nigeria’s reform agenda, security needs and investment opportunities to world leaders, international institutions and investors.
A third consecutive presidential absence, they said, could therefore raise questions about Nigeria’s level of engagement at a time when the country needs global partnerships.
However, security considerations could also influence the President’s decision. Reports have suggested that intelligence about a planned anti-Tinubu protest in New York may have contributed to the reported possibility of his staying away from the gathering.
The potential protest comes amid renewed international attention to controversies surrounding Tinubu, including the resurfacing of historical US Department of Justice records relating to a 1990s civil asset-forfeiture case involving funds linked to him.
A lobbying firm working for former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has reportedly submitted more than 60 pages of historical DOJ records to members of the Trump administration and Congress.
The Presidency has maintained that the matter is a settled, decades-old civil case and does not constitute a criminal conviction against Tinubu.
For now, however, the President’s UNGA attendance remains unconfirmed.
