Tinubu Receives Proposed 2027 UN Budget From Jimoh Ibrahim

President Bola Tinubu has received the proposed 2027 United Nations budget from Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the organisation, Ambassador Jimoh Ibrahim, following Nigeria’s emergence as chair of the UN General Assembly’s committee responsible for budgetary and administrative matters.

Ibrahim presented the seven-volume document to Tinubu at the State House in Abuja on Sunday, October 18, according to reports published on Monday.

The presentation followed the submission of the proposed budget by UN Secretary-General António Guterres to the General Assembly’s Fifth Committee, which Ibrahim chairs.

Speaking to journalists after the meeting, Ibrahim described the presentation as a historic moment for Nigeria, claiming that it was the first time in 66 years that a Nigerian president had received the proposed UN budget through the process.

He explained that he brought the document to Nigeria because the country is a member of the international organisation and he was responsible for overseeing the committee’s budgetary deliberations.

The proposed budget covers the UN’s regular activities and peacekeeping operations. Ibrahim put the overall estimate at approximately $14bn, although the figures he cited for the regular and peacekeeping budgets were $3.4bn and $8.5bn respectively, leaving a discrepancy that requires clarification.

He stressed that the document was still a proposal and had not received final approval from member states.

According to him, the figures would undergo further discussions and possible adjustments before the final budget is adopted and spending begins.

The presentation comes after Nigeria assumed the chairmanship of the Fifth Committee in June 2026, giving the country a leading role in discussions on the UN’s administrative and financial affairs.

Channels Television reported on October 14 that Guterres had presented the proposed 2027 budget to the committee in New York.

Ibrahim has said Nigeria’s leadership of the committee would provide an opportunity to promote accountability, transparency and more efficient use of the organisation’s resources.

Asked what Nigeria stood to gain from the budget process, Ibrahim said discussions were ongoing and declined to identify specific benefits the country might receive.

He cited the construction of a UN conference centre in Kenya as an example of the organisation’s investment in facilities in member states.

The proposed 2027 budget will undergo further scrutiny and negotiations within the United Nations before member states approve the final spending plan.