President 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 from the UN headquarters in New York showed that Mr Tinubu would speak on the second day of the event.

The Nigerian leader is scheduled to deliver his address to other world leaders during the afternoon session around 8:30 p.m. local time (around 2:30 p.m. Nigerian time).

Mr 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, comprising 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 President Donald Trump, the traditional second speaker, as the host country.

According to UN tradition, heads of state are speakers on the first and second days, while vice-presidents speak from the third day.

Vice-President Kashim Shettima represented Mr Tinubu in 2024 and spoke on the first day of the debate, maintaining the president’s slot, which diplomats said was unusual as per tradition.

Movses Abelian, under-secretary-general for General Assembly and Conference Management, said the current “revised list reflects changes in the level of representation (upgrades and downgrades) and reflects exchanges among member states.”

“Please note that this list will continue to be updated until the start of the General Debate as changes are communicated by Member States,” Mr Abelian added.

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’.

The 80th session of the UN General Assembly opened on Tuesday, with the inauguration of a new president, Annalena Baerbock of Germany.

Ms Baerbock called on member states to unite in addressing global crises, from war and poverty to climate change, taking her oath on the original 1945 Charter and pledging to lead with courage and inclusiveness.

Ms Baerbock became only the fifth woman in history to preside over the General Assembly. She accepted the assembly’s ornate gavel from her predecessor, Philémon Yang of Cameroon.

The high-level General Debate will be held from September 23 to 29. The high-level week will kick off on September 22 and run through September 30, during which world leaders will gather to attend the general debate and a series of conferences.

(NAN)