Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has demanded an explanation from President Bola Tinubu over his decision to skip the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York, describing the development as the third consecutive time the President has been absent from the annual global gathering.
Tinubu has mandated Vice President Kashim Shettima to lead Nigeria’s delegation to the 81st UNGA, reversing an earlier announcement by Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Jimoh Ibrahim, that the President would attend the gathering. Shettima also represented Tinubu at the 79th and 80th sessions in 2024 and 2025.
Atiku, in a statement issued on Sunday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, said the repeated absence required an explanation, particularly because UNGA provides opportunities for world leaders to engage in bilateral meetings and discuss trade, investment, security and development.
The former Vice President also questioned the earlier disclosure by Ibrahim that Tinubu was expected to sit close to United States President Donald Trump during the General Assembly.
Ibrahim had said in July that Tinubu would be seated in the front row near Trump, before the President's attendance was later cancelled.
Atiku further linked Tinubu’s absence to controversies surrounding the President’s past in the United States, particularly the forfeiture proceedings involving funds associated with him in a 1990s Chicago case.
He asked whether the President’s American history had influenced his repeated decision not to attend UNGA, while acknowledging that there was no official indication that Tinubu was barred from travelling to the US.
The former Vice President also questioned the reported spending of millions of dollars on American lobbyists, asking what Nigerians had gained from the expenditure if the President continued to stay away from a major diplomatic gathering held in New York.
He said the President’s absence could affect Nigeria’s ability to pursue diplomatic and economic opportunities at the global forum, arguing that personal representation by the country’s leader could not always be substituted by delegation.
Atiku therefore challenged the Presidency to state whether there was any legal, diplomatic, medical or personal reason for Tinubu’s absence and called for transparency on the matter.
His comments came despite earlier assurances from Ibrahim that Tinubu and his family had no US travel restrictions and that the Nigerian leader would enjoy protected transit to the UN headquarters during the General Assembly.
