President Bola Tinubu has received the proposed 2027 United Nations budget from Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the global body, Ambassador Jimoh Ibrahim, in what the envoy described as a historic first in the country’s 66-year experience with the budget presentation process.
Ibrahim, who chairs the UN General Assembly’s committee responsible for administrative and budgetary matters, presented the seven-volume document to Tinubu at the State House, Abuja.
Speaking to journalists after the meeting, the ambassador said the presentation was significant because it marked the first time a Nigerian president had received the proposed UN budget through the process.
“This is the first time in 66 years that Nigeria will share budget in the committee. The first time. So I don’t know when we’re going to do that again in history,” Ibrahim said.
He explained that the proposed budget had been transmitted through the UN system, from the Secretary-General to the General Assembly’s Fifth Committee, which he chairs.
According to him, presenting the document to the Nigerian President was appropriate because Nigeria is a member of the international organisation.
“President Bola Tinubu is making history to have been able to receive that budget, being the first President in 66 years that will receive such budget from the United Nations, and it’s not a small issue for a country to receive the whole UN budget,” he said.
The proposed 2027 budget covers the UN’s regular operations and peacekeeping activities. Ibrahim put the overall figure at approximately $14bn, comprising about $3.4bn for the regular budget and $8.5bn for peacekeeping operations.
However, the two components cited by the ambassador total $11.9bn, leaving a difference of $2.1bn between the breakdown and the stated overall figure.
Ibrahim stressed that the document remained a proposal and would undergo further consideration and possible adjustments before receiving final approval from member states.
“The budget still has to be approved. This is a proposed budget. It’s at the proposed stage. You submit it to your country, and thereafter the budget is finally discussed. Figures are adjusted, and then finally the final budget is approved and spending commences,” he said.
On the potential benefits Nigeria could derive from the budget, the envoy declined to provide specific details, noting that discussions on the proposal were still ongoing.
He, however, cited the construction of a $267m United Nations conference centre in Kenya as an example of the organisation’s investment in facilities within member states.
The proposed budget is expected to undergo further scrutiny and possible revisions before the UN member states approve the final allocations and authorise expenditure.
