Tinubu Heads to New York for Major UN Address

(President Bola Ahmed. Photo by News Express)

President Bola Tinubu will travel to New York next month to speak at the United Nations General Assembly, joining nearly 200 world leaders for the annual gathering.

Tinubu is scheduled to address the assembly on September 23 as the 10th speaker during the morning session.

His speech will begin around 11:30am New York time, which is 4:30pm Nigerian time.

The general debate runs from September 22 to 28 at the UN headquarters.

This year's assembly brings together about 193 countries, represented by over 150 heads of state and government plus many other senior officials.

Brazil's president will open the debate, followed by the US president as the host nation.

The assembly is being presided over by a representative from Bangladesh, and its theme is "Restoring trust, managing transformation:A United Nations that delivers for all."

Beyond his main speech, Tinubu will participate in several high-level meetings and side events on topics including climate action, rising sea levels and pandemic preparedness.

He will meet with the outgoing UN secretary-general and also plans to meet with Nigeria's deputy secretary-general, who is stepping down after serving since 2017.

Tinubu last attended the UN assembly in person in 2023.

Since then, the vice-president has represented Nigeria at the 2024 and 2025 sessions.

Nigeria's ambassador to the UN confirmed that Tinubu would attend this year and said the president's participation would allow Nigeria to present the government's recent reforms to the international community.

The ambassador also said Tinubu would use the platform to discuss border security challenges in West Africa, describing the region's porous borders as a major threat.

Nigeria is collaborating with the UN on a border policing initiative and will seek wider international backing for the effort.

There may also be a meeting between Tinubu and the US president during the assembly week.