Tinubu Is Skipping The UN General Assembly For A Third Year
New York · Tuesday 22 September 2026
Vice President Kashim Shettima will lead Nigeria's delegation to the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly, which opens today. President Tinubu will not attend, his third consecutive absence. Shettima will deliver Nigeria's national statement during the General Debate, which runs from 22 to 28 September.
The delegation includes the Rivers State governor Siminalayi Fubara, the Zamfara State governor Dauda Lawal, and a number of ministers.
What the General Assembly is actually for
Not the speeches. The speeches are broadcast at home and read by almost nobody abroad. The value is the week of bilateral meetings around them, where investment, security cooperation and debt conversations happen with heads of state who are all in the same city at once. That access is the thing a president attends for.
The theme, and Nigeria's version of it
| This year's UN theme | The Nigerian reading |
|---|---|
| Restoring trust | An election is four months away |
| Managing transformation | Three years of subsidy removal and a floated naira |
| A UN that delivers for all | Nigeria still wants a permanent Security Council seat |
Every row is a domestic argument wearing an international coat.
Nigeria has campaigned for a permanent seat on the Security Council for two decades. That campaign is conducted in rooms you have to turn up to.
What to watch in the statement
Whether Shettima commits Nigeria to anything measurable on security cooperation in the Sahel, and whether he raises the treatment of Nigerians abroad, which has been a live domestic issue for a fortnight after a Nigerian bishop was shot dead in Johannesburg and the National Assembly suspended official visits to South Africa. Both are things a national statement can carry. Neither usually survives the flight home.
Reporting: Channels Television, Vanguard, Tribune Online and The Sun Nigeria.
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