NEW YORK, United States – Vice President Senator Kashim Shettima, departed New York on Sunday evening for Abuja after concluding Nigeria’s high-level diplomatic participation at the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly, where he represented President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, and led the nation’s delegation, diplomatic correspondents reported from New York on Sunday night, September 27, 2026.
The Vice President and his entourage boarded the presidential aircraft at John F. Kennedy International Airport following an intensive week of plenary sessions, bilateral audiences, multilateral negotiations, and international investment roundtables convened at the United Nations Headquarters.
Okay News reports that the centerpiece of the mission was Shettima’s delivery of Nigeria’s national statement at the General Debate of the Eighty-First Session of the General Assembly on Thursday, September 24, in which he articulated the Tinubu administration’s vision for an equitable global order.
In his address to world leaders, the Vice President reiterated Nigeria’s demand for urgent institutional reform of the United Nations Security Council, declaring that the continued denial of permanent seats to the African continent subverts the democratic legitimacy and fairness of global governance in the 21st century.
Shettima also championed comprehensive restructuring of the global financial architecture, advocating for accelerated debt relief mechanisms, expanded climate adaptation financing for vulnerable developing nations, and enhanced multilateral cooperation to curb illicit financial flows out of Africa.
On the sidelines of the General Debate, the Vice President conducted strategic consultative meetings, including a high-level session with United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Hajiya Amina J. Mohammed, where he reaffirmed Nigeria’s support for the United Nations Charter, international humanitarian law, and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The Nigerian delegation included Kwara State Governor and Nigeria Governors’ Forum Chairman AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, Benue State Governor Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara, Zamfara State Governor Dauda Lawal, Minister of Foreign Affairs Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, and Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ambassador Jimoh Ibrahim.
The Vice President is scheduled to touch down at the Presidential Wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja on Monday, where he will resume official state duties ahead of the national commemoration of Nigeria’s 66th Independence Anniversary on Thursday, October 1.
