Shettima To Represent Nigeria At United Nations Meeting

Vice President Kashim Shettima will represent Nigeria at the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York next week, LEADERSHIP gathered yesterday.

Shettima is expected to depart Abuja tomorrow for New York where he will lead Nigeria’s delegation to the annual gathering of world leaders.

His planned trip comes as President Bola Tinubu is expected to return to Nigeria today after spending about three weeks in Europe.

The development is a change from an earlier plan announced by Nigeria’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Jimoh Ibrahim, who disclosed in July that Tinubu would personally attend the 2026 UNGA.

Ibrahim had said after meeting with the president at the Presidential Villa, Abuja that Tinubu had agreed to attend the General Assembly and participate in selected high-level side events.

According to the envoy, the president was expected to use the occasion to present the administration’s reform agenda to the international community and engage world leaders on issues including energy, education and healthcare.

However, LEADERSHIP gathered that Shettima will now represent the president at the New York gathering.

The vice president had represented Tinubu at the 79th and 80th sessions of the UN General Assembly in 2024 and 2025.

The 81st session of the UN General Assembly is currently holding in New York, with the high-level general debate scheduled for September 22 to 28, 2026.