By Anwar Usman
The President of Nigeria, Bola Tinubu will address the 80th Session of the high-level General Debate of the United Nations General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York on Wednesday, September 24.
A revised provisional list of speakers obtained by the correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria from the UN headquarters in New York showed that Tinubu would be speaking on the second day of the event.
The president is scheduled to deliver his address to other world leaders during the afternoon session, around 8:30 pm local time (approximately 2:30 pm Nigerian time).
Tinubu would be the 17th world leader to speak on day two of the general debate, according to the provisional list.He will be joining the gathering of 195 world leaders made up of 98 heads of state, five vice presidents, 44 heads of government, and four deputy prime ministers.
The others are 37 ministers, one crown prince, and four chairs of delegation to speak at the general debate.
The President of Brazil, Luiz da Silva, would be the first world leader to present his address to the 78th session, as is tradition.He will be followed by the U.S. President, Donald Trump, the traditional second speaker, being the host country.
NAN reports that the list was being updated and the Nigerian leader’s speaking slot might change if he did not attend the general debate in person.
According to the UN traditions, heads of state are speakers on the first and second day, while vice presidents speak from the third day.Vice-President Kashim Shettima represented Tinubu in 2024 and spoke on the first day of the debate, maintaining Tinubu’s slot, which diplomats said was very unusual as per tradition.
The rare feat was credited to the goodwill that Nigeria enjoys among the international community and the diplomatic manoeuvring of the Nigerian diplomats at the UN.
The theme of the general debate of the 80th session of the General Assembly is “Better together: 80 years and more for peace, development, and human rights.