The minister’s rebuttal follows Atiku’s pointed questioning of Tinubu’s third straight UNGA absence, which invoked a decades-old US forfeiture case and a comparison to Venezuela’s captured Maduro.

Mohammed Idris, Minister of Information and National Orientation, says President Bola Tinubu is absent from the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) because he is currently on annual leave, rejecting suggestions that the absence reflects anything more significant.

In a statement issued on Monday, Idris said Tinubu had mandated Vice President Kashim Shettima to lead Nigeria’s delegation to the high-level session in New York, with Shettima delivering Nigeria’s national statement and participating in high-level meetings and bilateral engagements with world leaders, international organisations and development partners.

He said the Vice President’s engagements would focus on Nigeria’s priorities on peace and security, economic development, climate action, reform of the global financial architecture, sustainable development and international cooperation.

Why the government says the absence is routine

“Vice-President Shettima carries the full mandate of the president and the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” Idris said, adding that Nigeria would therefore be “fully and effectively represented” throughout the high-level session.

“President Tinubu is currently on annual leave, and his decision to ask the Vice President to lead Nigeria’s delegation is neither unusual nor a diminution of the country’s diplomatic standing,” the statement read.

What Atiku alleged

The minister’s statement responds directly to criticism from Atiku Abubakar, the African Democratic Congress’s 2027 presidential candidate, who questioned Tinubu’s absence from the UNGA for a third consecutive year, in 2024, 2025 and now 2026, arguing the pattern could no longer be dismissed as coincidence or routine delegation.

In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku asked whether Tinubu’s history with US law enforcement had become a burden on Nigeria’s foreign relations, and posed a pointed comparison: “Is Tinubu afraid that he could become Donald Trump’s next Nicolás Maduro?”, a reference to the Venezuelan president captured by the United States in January 2026 and now facing drug-trafficking charges there.

Atiku said these questions were legitimate because of Case No. 93 C 4483, a civil forfeiture proceeding brought by the US government before the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in the 1990s, concerning funds held in accounts in Tinubu’s name and associated companies, which Atiku said the US complaint linked to alleged narcotics trafficking and money laundering.

Atiku demanded that the presidency clarify whether any legal, diplomatic, medical or personal impediment prevents Tinubu from travelling to the United States, and questioned why the president did not attend after Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Jimoh Ibrahim, reportedly said arrangements had been made for him to sit close to US President Donald Trump at the General Assembly.

TDC notes this civil forfeiture matter is a matter of public record from the 1990s and has been raised in Nigerian political discourse before; it does not constitute a criminal conviction of Tinubu.

Government’s response

Idris said the government had taken note of Atiku’s comments and those of a US-based lobbying organisation retained on his behalf. The presidency has separately said there is no indication that Tinubu is restricted from travelling to the US. Idris said political opposition and public debate are legitimate features of democracy, but cautioned that speculation should not be presented as established fact.

“The government urges political actors to exercise responsibility when discussing matters affecting Nigeria’s international relationships and national reputation,” he said.

Idris also highlighted Nigeria’s longstanding relationship with the United States, spanning trade and investment, security cooperation, energy, democratic institutions, regional stability and people-to-people ties, saying the relationship is conducted through established diplomatic and governmental channels rather than partisan commentary or private lobbying activity.

“Nigeria will be fully represented in New York. Nigeria’s interests will be vigorously advanced,” he said, urging Nigerians and the media to distinguish between verified information, legitimate political opinion and unsubstantiated speculation.