Nigeria leads UN budget talks, rallies Africa ahead of committee opening

Nigeria has rallied African ambassadors ahead of Monday’s opening of the UN’s crucial budget negotiations, with its permanent representative to the United Nations, Jimoh Ibrahim, spearheading the talks.

Mr Ibrahim, chairman of the UN General Assembly’s Fifth Committee, convened an interactive dinner with African Ambassadors at Nigeria House in New York on Sunday night. The meeting came hours before Jimoh was due to preside over the committee’s first meeting of the 81st General Assembly session.

Ambassadors of Morocco, The Gambia and Guinea, among African representatives, alongside the Chair of the African Group’s Fifth Committee experts, spoke and gave the Group’s full support. Mr Jimoh said the consultation was designed to brief African colleagues on preparations for the session, hear their concerns and build collective support for the work ahead.

“I want to welcome everyone to this meeting. It’s going to be a continuous interactive meeting,” he said. Mr Ibrahim said similar consultations could be convened every two or three weeks to maintain coordination between ambassadors and their technical experts throughout negotiations. He thanked the African Group for supporting his emergence as Chair and pledged to justify the confidence reposed in Nigeria.

The Nigerian envoy declared that protecting African interests would remain important during deliberations. The Committee’s main session runs from October 5 to December 4, with the proposed programme plan and budget for 2027 among the major documentation before delegates.

Mr Ibrahim Jimoh told the African ambassadors that one of his earliest priorities after assuming the chairmanship was ensuring that required reports reached Member States early enough for meaningful scrutiny.

“If we don’t have the report, there is no way we can move forward in the Fifth Committee. Our experts are the ones doing the bulk of the job, and they need to have the report at hand,” he said.

The Nigerian diplomat also stressed the link between efficiency, effectiveness and financial accountability in the management of the organisation. He said member states could not properly evaluate UN plans without understanding the figures and financial assumptions underpinning them.

“You cannot separate efficiency from effectiveness; they work hand in hand. What drives the plan? The figures,” Mr Ibrahim said. He urged African ambassadors and experts to work closely, stressing that diplomats should be guided by the technical expertise of officials directly involved in budget negotiations.

The committee’s agenda spans administrative and financial questions allocated to it by the General Assembly, with supporting reports forming the basis for negotiations. Monday’s opening, therefore, begins a demanding negotiating period in which Member States will scrutinise spending proposals, administrative arrangements and resources needed to implement UN mandates.

The Nigerian envoy said the objective would be to combine technical preparedness with political coordination to secure fair and effective outcomes for Africa and all other UN groups. NAN