President Bola Tinubu will on Wednesday, September 24, address world leaders at the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.
According to a revised provisional list of speakers obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria at the UN headquarters, Tinubu is billed to speak during the afternoon session around 8:30 p.m. local time (2:30 p.m. Nigerian time).
The Nigerian leader will be the 17th speaker on the second day of the debate, joining a line-up of 195 world leaders, including 98 heads of state, 44 heads of government, five vice presidents, and other high-ranking officials.
By tradition, Brazil’s President, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, will open the debate, followed by the United States President, Donald Trump, representing the host country.
UN officials, however, hinted that Tinubu’s slot could change if he fails to attend in person, though Nigerian diplomats are said to be working to maintain his position.
Last year, Vice President, Kashim Shettima represented Tinubu and unusually retained his speaking slot on the opening day, an arrangement attributed to Nigeria’s diplomatic goodwill.
Movses Abelian, UN Under-Secretary-General for General Assembly and Conference Management, explained that the updated list “reflects changes in the level of representation (upgrades and downgrades) and exchanges among Member States.”
He stressed that the speaker list “will continue to be updated until the start of the General Debate.”
The high-level week will kick off on September 22 and run through September 30, during which world leaders will gather to attend the general debate and a series of conferences.
These include the High-level Meeting to Commemorate the 80th Anniversary of the UN, the SDG Moment, and the High-level Meeting on the 30th Anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women.
The others are the Conference on Palestine and the Two-State Solution, the Climate Summit, and the High-Level Meeting to Launch the Global Dialogue on AI Governance, among others.
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