Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Jimoh Ibrahim, has called for commendation over his efforts to secure a prominent seating position for Nigeria at the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Ibrahim made the statement while explaining his earlier claim that President Bola Tinubu would sit “very close” to United States President Donald Trump during the General Assembly.
However, Tinubu did not attend the ongoing UNGA, with Vice President Kashim Shettima leading Nigeria’s delegation.
Speaking during an interview on Channels Television on Tuesday, Ibrahim said Trump did not remain in the seat allocated to him during the session.
According to him, the US president occupied his designated seat briefly before delivering his address and leaving the General Assembly hall.
“Did Donald Trump sit in the seat that was provided for him? Did he sit there? He sat 27th seat, far away from Nigeria. He didn’t sit there. He came to deliver his lecture to the General Assembly and left from there,” Ibrahim said.
He explained that Nigeria was allocated the sixth position in the front row, describing the arrangement as an important diplomatic achievement.
Ibrahim, who said he serves as chairman of the UN budget and administration committee, added that he had access to the speaking list for the General Assembly.
He said a significant number of countries were represented by foreign ministers or vice presidents rather than their presidents or heads of government.
“Do you want President Tinubu to go into the plane, move down to New York and speak for 15 minutes when 60 per cent of the speaking list are represented by ministers of foreign affairs and vice presidents?” he asked.
The Nigerian envoy also pointed to the absence of some world leaders, including those from Kenya, South Africa, China and Russia, during the session.
Defending his earlier comments, Ibrahim said the seating arrangement demonstrated that Nigeria had been accorded a prominent position at the gathering.
“You have to thank me and commend my effort. I said Nigeria would be in the first seat; was Nigeria not in the first seat? I said Nigeria would sit with Donald Trump; did Donald Trump have a seat in the General Assembly? He didn’t sit for a second,” he said.
He further stressed the significance of Nigeria occupying the sixth position in the front row.
“Do you think it’s easy for a country to sit at number six in the front row? Don’t you know a country sits at number 193, and your country is sitting at number six; how did I get that?” Ibrahim asked.
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