Nigeria’s UN envoy defends Tinubu’s absence from General Assembly

Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Jimoh Ibrahim, has defended President Bola Tinubu’s decision not to attend the 81st UN General Assembly. Mr. Ibrahim said many countries were represented by ministers or deputy leaders at the gathering, including Nigeria, where Vice President Kasim Shettima represented the country.

He questioned whether the president needed to travel to New York to deliver a speech when many speakers were also represented by other officials. He cited the absence of the presidents of South Africa, China and Russia, among others, and said Mr. Shettima adequately represented Nigeria.

Mr. Tinubu’s absence had drawn criticism from Nigerians on social media and renewed questions about his attendance at international meetings. The president has missed the UN General Assembly for three consecutive years, according to the source.

He did not attend the 79th assembly in 2024 or the 80th in 2025, with the vice president representing him on those occasions as well. Mr. Tinubu was in France during this year’s assembly on what was described as a working vacation.

Premium Times reported that he had left Nigeria on August 30 for London for a three-week annual leave and later travelled to Paris, where he met French President Emmanuel Macron and businessman Vincent Bolloré. Mr. Ibrahim said the president’s absence did not violate the Constitution.

He distinguished a working leave from absolute leave and said the president had not committed an offence. The presidency has maintained that Mr. Tinubu continued performing official duties while away from Nigeria.

The envoy also said Nigeria retained a prominent seating position at the UN gathering. He said the country was seated sixth in the front row despite being one of 193 member states. The source did not include a response from critics of the president’s absence.