‘Nigerians know he’s on leave’ - Anyim defends Tinubu’s absence at UNGA

Former Senate President Pius Anyim Pius has defended President Bola Tinubu’s absence from the ongoing United Nations General Assembly in New York, saying Nigerians are aware that the President is currently on leave.

Anyim said there was nothing unusual about Tinubu delegating the responsibility of representing Nigeria at the global gathering to Vice President Kashim Shettima.

The former Senate president, who served as Secretary to the Government of the Federation, spoke exclusively on ARISE NEWS’ Prime Time on Monday.

Tinubu is currently away from the country on what the Presidency has described as a short working vacation, while Shettima is representing Nigeria at the UNGA.

Anyim questioned the concerns generated by the President’s absence, arguing that the Vice President was constitutionally capable of representing the country at the gathering.

“I really don’t understand why his absence should be an issue. I think Nigerians know very well that the President is on short leave, a short vacation.

“He simply assigned his Vice President to undertake the assignment. I don’t know why we are making so much out of this. There is nothing that compares to the President being at UNGA. The Vice President can represent the country, even the Foreign Minister,” he said.

According to Anyim, the UNGA consists not only of the General Assembly but also several bilateral and multilateral engagements on the sidelines.

He said the President’s absence would only be significant if he had scheduled meetings that required his personal attendance.

“The structure of UNGA involves the General Assembly and side meetings. Side meetings could be bilateral or multilateral. What you present in that General Assembly statement is simply reading a statement from your country. This is something that the Vice President can do,” he said.

Anyim also dismissed concerns about Tinubu missing a possible interaction with United States President Donald Trump, saying such meetings are usually arranged in advance.

“It’s not about meeting the President by chance. The fact that you sit together with the President doesn’t mean anything. The President of America normally would have a schedule set ahead of time,” he said.

He added that Tinubu was not the only head of state to stay away from the annual UN gathering.

“It doesn’t matter. After all, there are many heads of state who don’t go,” Anyim said.