No fewer than five governors and seven ministers are accompanying President Bola Tinubu on Sunday to New York, for the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), which will be his first as the Nigerian leader.
According to a statement by Ajuri Ngelale, Special Adviser to the President on Media & Publicity, the president will also be joined by other aides in what is meant to be a trimmed down delegation.
Ngalale said President Tinubu will be accompanied by Governors Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State; Mohammed Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State; Hope Uzodinma of Imo State; Uba Sani of Kaduna State; AbdulRahman AbdulRazak of Kwara State; and Seyi Makinde of Oyo State.
Also traveling with the President: the Chief of Staff to the President, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila; Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Yusuf Maitama Tuggar; Coordinating Minister of the Economy & Finance, Mr. Wale Edun, Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Mohammed Pate; Minister of Defence, Abubakar Badaru; Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Mr. Dele Alake, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr. Betta Edu; and Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Doris Uzoka-Anite.
The National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu; Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa and other senior government officials will also be present.
The presidential spokesman said that on September 19, the first day of the High-Level General Debate of the 78th UNGA Session, President Tinubu will deliver his inaugural National Statement.
He said, “Before engaging in the General Debate, the President will join other world leaders to participate in the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (UN 2023 Summit on SDGs).
“President Tinubu’s address will encompass several issues, such as sustainable development, climate change, global cooperation, and the imperative to address inequalities and global humanitarian crises.
“Additionally, President Tinubu is slated to participate in the High-Level Dialogue on Financing for Development; High-Level Meeting on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness, and Response; UN Secretary General’s Climate Ambition Summit; High-Level Meeting on Universal Health Coverage; High-Level Panel on Reform of the Global Financial Architecture, amongst others.”
In New York, he said, President Tinubu is also scheduled to hold several bilateral meetings with world leaders, including the Presidents of the European Union Commission, Brazil, and South Africa, amongst others.
The President, he said, will also advance his economic development agenda for aggressive investment attraction in meetings with the global leadership of transnational firms, such as Microsoft, Meta Technologies, Exxon Mobil, General Electric, and others.
Furthermore, on the margins of UNGA, President Tinubu will detail emerging cross-sectoral investment opportunities in Nigeria in his address to American business leaders at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
He said, “It is noteworthy that while engaging with officials at the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ) Headquarters in New York City, the Nigerian leader will have the honour of conducting the NASDAQ closing ceremony during its trading session, making President Tinubu the first African President to do this.
“The President will also address the Nigerian SMEs Business Summit, where he will seek to highlight the increasingly important role of Nigerian enterprises in global trade.”