Human rights lawyer and former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Prof. Chidi Anselm Odinkalu, has taken issue with claims by Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Jimoh Ibrahim, that Nigeria is “in charge” of the UN’s budget and administration and consequently “controls” its budget.
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Odinkalu reacted on Wednesday to a video in which Ibrahim spoke about Nigeria’s growing responsibilities within the United Nations and the country’s campaign for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.
Quoting the envoy’s assertion that Nigeria was in charge of the UN budget, Odinkalu wrote on X:
“We are in charge of the budget of @UN, meaning that we control the whole of the 85bn USD budget of the UN…..”
He then added: “U can take a guy out of @NGRSenate but u cannot take the ways of @NGRSenate out of dude. Loopy or what….?!”
Odinkalu’s post was a direct reaction to Ibrahim’s description of Nigeria’s current positions within the UN system and, particularly, his characterisation of the chairmanship of the General Assembly’s Fifth Committee as giving Nigeria control over the organisation’s budget.
In the video, Ibrahim said the mandate given to him by President Bola Tinubu was clear: to advance Nigeria’s campaign for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council.
He said Vice President Kashim Shettima, who is currently leading Nigeria’s delegation to the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York, understood that objective and was expected to reinforce it through Nigeria’s engagements at UNGA81.
Ibrahim went on to describe Nigeria as presently occupying influential positions within the organisation.
“As a matter of fact, let me say clearly that Nigeria is doing currently very well. We are in charge of budgets and the whole of administration of the United Nations,” he said.
He added that Nigeria chaired the relevant budget structure, saying this meant the country “controls” the UN budget, which he put at $18.5 billion in the video.
There is a numerical difference between the figure reproduced in Odinkalu’s X post $85 billion and the figure audible in the video and previously cited publicly by Ibrahim $18.5 billion.
In July, Ibrahim similarly told journalists that the UN’s “current budget” stood at $18.5 billion and that the organisation faced a possible $1.5 billion deficit. He also spoke at the time about approximately $6.5 billion being spent annually on peacekeeping and $3.4 billion on general administration.
Official United Nations records, however, distinguish between different UN budgets. The General Assembly approved a $3.45 billion regular UN budget for 2026, separate from the peacekeeping budget and various other funds, programmes and financing streams across the wider UN system. Accordingly, $18.5 billion is not the organisation’s 2026 regular budget figure.
More fundamentally, Nigeria does not unilaterally “control” the UN budget.
Ibrahim was elected in June as Chairman of the Fifth Committee of the United Nations General Assembly, which deals with administrative and budgetary matters. President Tinubu formally congratulated him on the election, describing the position as significant at a time when the world body is confronting financial pressures and institutional reforms.
But the Fifth Committee is composed of UN member states and operates collectively.
According to the United Nations, the Fifth Committee is the General Assembly committee responsible for administrative and budgetary questions. It considers budgetary matters and submits reports and recommendations, following which the General Assembly considers and approves the organisation’s budget under Article 17 of the UN Charter.
The committee generally seeks agreement among delegations through consensus before forwarding recommendations to the full General Assembly. The chair coordinates the committee’s proceedings but does not personally determine or control UN expenditure.
Ibrahim himself acknowledged the collective nature of the body when he assumed the chairmanship in June, noting that the Fifth Committee involves all 193 UN member states and saying he intended to use his experience to build consensus among them.
The distinction provides the backdrop to Odinkalu’s criticism: while Nigeria’s representative chairs the body that scrutinises and recommends action on major administrative and financial questions, that role is different from Nigeria having unilateral control of the UN budget.
Ibrahim also referred in the video to Nigeria’s leadership of the UN body dealing with peacekeeping operations.
Nigeria assumed the chairmanship of the United Nations Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations, commonly known as C-34, earlier in September, with Ibrahim taking over from Canada.
The committee examines UN peacekeeping operations and makes recommendations on their development and effectiveness. Ibrahim said on assuming the position that Nigeria would seek to bridge the gap between policies adopted at UN headquarters and realities facing peacekeepers and civilians in conflict areas.
Nigeria therefore currently holds the chairmanship of two significant UN committees through Ibrahim — the Fifth Committee on administrative and budgetary questions and the C-34 Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations.
In the video that attracted Odinkalu’s reaction, Ibrahim presented those two positions as evidence that Nigeria was already strongly placed within the organisation.
He argued that securing a permanent Security Council seat would effectively complete the principal assignment he had been given.
That aspect of Ibrahim’s statement is consistent with an instruction publicly given by Tinubu in July.
Receiving a delegation at the Presidential Villa, the President told Ibrahim to remain focused on his UN assignment and specifically urged him to “work harder and get a permanent seat at the UN.”
Ibrahim subsequently assured Tinubu that he would continue working towards Nigeria securing a permanent Security Council seat.
Nigeria’s push predates Ibrahim’s appointment and forms part of the country’s broader demand for reform of the Security Council to give Africa stronger permanent representation.
At the 80th UN General Assembly, Nigeria publicly argued that it deserved a permanent seat as part of wider institutional reforms reflecting contemporary demographic and geopolitical realities.
Odinkalu’s latest criticism of Ibrahim also comes against the backdrop of another widely publicised statement the envoy made ahead of UNGA81.
On July 15, after meeting Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Ibrahim announced that the President had agreed to personally attend the September General Assembly.
He told State House correspondents that Tinubu would use the gathering to showcase his administration’s reforms and declared that the Nigerian President would sit “very, very close” to United States President Donald Trump in the front row of the General Assembly.
“I won’t be able to tell you that there will be a meeting, but I can tell you clearly that President Tinubu will be sitting very, very close to Donald Trump in the front row of the United Nations General Assembly,” Ibrahim said at the time.
Those arrangements subsequently changed.
Tinubu did not travel to New York for UNGA81. The Presidency announced on September 20 that Vice President Shettima would instead represent him and lead Nigeria’s delegation. The Federal Government later explained that Tinubu was on annual leave and that Shettima carried the President’s full mandate.
Shettima has since arrived in New York and joined other world leaders at the General Assembly. He is scheduled to deliver Nigeria’s national statement on Thursday, September 24.
Ibrahim and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu have also briefed the Vice President on Nigeria’s priorities at UNGA81, including reform of global institutions, multilateral cooperation and the country’s national interests.
Following Tinubu’s decision not to attend, Ibrahim said Nigeria would nevertheless retain its designated position at the gathering, including its front-row seat, with Shettima representing the President.
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