President Bola Tinubu on Monday received the United Nations’ $14bn proposed budget for 2027.
This is as Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Jimoh Ibrahim, described it as a first for a Nigerian President in 66 years.
Ibrahim, who chairs the UN General Assembly’s Fifth Committee, which handles administrative and budgetary matters, spoke to State House correspondents after presenting the seven-volume document to the President at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja.
He said it was the first time in 66 years that Nigeria would chair the committee, and described the handover as an honour for the country.
Ibrahim explained, “The proposed United Nations budget for 2027 was presented by the Secretary-General to the Fifth Committee. The budget is seven volumes, so it has to be presented to my country, because Nigeria is a member of the United Nations. I chair the Budget and Administrative Committee, so the appropriate thing to do is to bring the budget home and deliver it to the President.
It is the first time in 66 years that Nigeria will chair the Budget and Administrative Committee. We do not know when we will have this chance again in history.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is the first President in 66 years to receive the UN budget. It’s not a small issue for a country to receive the whole UN budget.”
Giving details on the $14bn budget, Ibrahim said, “The budget is about $3.4bn for the regular budget and about $8.5bn for peacekeeping.
“In total, we have about a $14bn budget, which is about N36tn to N40tn, for the regular budget and peacekeeping.
So I’m happy that the President has received the seven volumes of the proposed budget.”
Ibrahim cited a $260m UN conference centre being built in Kenya as an example of the scale of the organisation’s spending.
The envoy, however, declined to say what Nigeria stands to gain, saying negotiations were ongoing.
“I don’t want to discuss what Nigeria will get inside the budget.
“That would be too far away, because my colleagues and I are still discussing the budget.
“This is a proposed budget. You submit the proposal to your country, and thereafter the budget is discussed, figures are adjusted, and then finally the final budget is approved. Then spending commences,” he stated.
The UN Secretary-General António Guterres had presented the proposed 2027 programme budget to the Fifth Committee on October 13, and put the regular budget at about $3.3bn, with special political missions at about $423m.
The Fifth Committee, one of the General Assembly’s six main committees, reviews and approves the UN’s budget. Ibrahim, a former senator, was elected its chairman in June.
