By Eshioromeh Sebastian
President Bola Tinubu has confirmed his attendance at the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, United States, scheduled for September, where he is expected to sit just a few seats away from United States President Donald Trump on the front row of the General Assembly hall.
Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Amb Jimoh Ibrahim, disclosed this on Wednesday when he briefed State House correspondents after meeting with Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The President’s attendance ends a two-year absence from the world’s most prominent diplomatic gathering. At the 79th UNGA in September 2024, Tinubu delegated Vice President Kashim Shettima to lead Nigeria’s delegation, citing a need to focus on domestic matters, particularly in the aftermath of devastating flooding across multiple states. Shettima again represented the President at the 80th UNGA session in September 2025.
“The President has generously agreed to attend the UNGA meeting of the United Nations,” Ibrahim told correspondents. “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.”
Ibrahim revealed that Tinubu’s address is scheduled for around 10:45 a.m. New York time, approximately 3:45 p.m. Nigeria time, a scheduling he said would allow Nigerians to watch the address live during their waking hours.
“That will be a time when Nigeria will be awake, so everybody will listen and see live what the President will be delivering,” he said.
Responding to a question by our correspondent on a potential encounter with Trump, Ibrahim said while he could not confirm a formal meeting, the seating arrangement would place the two leaders in close proximity.
“I won’t be able to tell you that there will be a meeting, but I can tell you clearly that President Tinubu will be sitting very, very close to Donald Trump in the front row of the United Nations General Assembly,” Ibrahim stated. “That you can get from me. Don’t ask me how that was arranged, but Mr President of Nigeria will be sitting in the front row.”
The potential encounter would be particularly significant given that on October 31, 2025, President Trump redesignated Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” for the persecution of Christians by groups of violent Islamists. Trump wrote on social media at the time that “Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria” and that “thousands of Christians are being killed” by radical Islamists.
Tinubu subsequently said his administration was willing to work with the United States to improve security in the country.
Side Events and Border Security
Ibrahim also disclosed that Tinubu would attend several side event meetings already lined up for him at the event, including sessions on power generation and energy issues, education, and hospital management.
“There are side event meetings for Mr President to attend, which include a generation of power and energy issues. There is another side event meeting on education, as well as hospital management,” he said. “But we don’t want to crowd the itinerary, so we discussed that graciously.”
On West Africa’s border security, a matter Ibrahim said Tinubu raised during the discussion, the UN Budget Committee Chairman revealed that the President had issued specific directives and was committed to using Nigeria’s UN engagement to advance a regional border policing framework.
“The President also reaffirmed his commitment to border policing. This time around, the President will be working with the United Nations to look into the West African border, which is porous,” Ibrahim stated.
“A lot of peacekeeping effort is coming in here, and I will be going back to the UN to inform everyone about the decision to take West Africa as a case study of border policing and ensure our security is well guaranteed.”
Ibrahim also disclosed that he would present the UN budget for 2027 at the General Assembly session in his capacity as Chairman of the UN Budget Committee, a role that has placed Nigeria at the centre of one of the multilateral body’s most consequential annual processes.
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