Vice-President KashimShettima yesterday departed Abuja for New York, the United States, to represent President Bola Tinubu at the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly.

According to a statement released by Senior Special Assistant on Media and Communications to the Vice-President, Mr Stanley Nkwocha, Shettima will deliver Nigeria’s national statement at the high-level meeting in New York.

The statement read, “Vice President KashimShettima has departed Abuja, Nigeria, to attend the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly, holding in New York, United States of America, from Monday, September 22 to Sunday, September 28, 2025.

“Senator Shettima, who is representing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, at the global event, will deliver Nigeria’s national statement and join other dignitaries at the UN high-level general debates, among other side events.”

On the sideline, Nkwocha added that the VP will announce Nigeria’s new Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement at this year’s UN special event on climate.

The Tide reports that UNGA 80 opened on 9 September 2025.

Among scheduled events is a high-level general debate that will run from 23 to 27 September and conclude on 29 September 2025.

The SDG Moment will be held on 22 September to highlight inspiring action on the Sustainable Development Goals.

According to the statement, Shettima’sprogramme in New York will include bilateral engagements and multilateral discussions on issues of national and international importance.

President Bola Tinubu yesterday celebrated his wife, Senator OluremiTinubu, as she turned 65, describing her as his confidant, counsellor, and steady anchor through decades of political and personal trials.

In a tribute released at midnight, yesterday, Tinubu poured encomiums on the First Lady not just as his spouse but as a lifelong partner whose sacrifices have quietly shaped their family and the nation.

He wrote, “As you celebrate your 65th birthday today, I honour not only the love of my life, but also a woman whose quiet strength and enduring grace have been my steadying anchor.

“Through every season, from the long years of struggle and political exile, to leadership responsibilities, you have stood firmly by my side with dignity, patience, and devotion that words can scarcely express.”

Reflecting on her influence beyond the home, Tinubu hailed his wife as a role model for their children and grandchildren, and as a symbol of resilience for Nigerian women.

“You are more than my wife. You are my confidant, counsellor, and the steady flame illuminating my path.

“In you, our children and grandchildren see the example of compassion and faith, and in you, our nation sees the true strength of womanhood; resolute yet tender, humble yet unshakably firm,” he noted.

The President also acknowledged the sacrifices his wife made during the years of political struggle, saying they amounted to a form of national service.

According to the President, “Nigeria owes you more than many will ever know. In every sacrifice you made quietly, in every burden you carried without complaint, you have served this country as surely as I have, not from the podium, but from the heart of our home.”

Expressing gratitude in his dual capacity as husband and President, Tinubu concluded: “Today, as your husband, I thank God for your life, health, and unwavering love.

“As your President, I salute you as the First Lady whose warmth and empathy continue to touch millions of lives across our land.

“And as your lifelong companion, I say that I love you more than ever, and am blessed every day by your presence. Your love is a treasure I hold dear.”

Tinubu wished her many more years of peace, joy, and fulfilment, saying: “Happy 65th birthday, Oluremi. May the years ahead be filled with joy, peace, and the fulfilment you so richly deserve.”

Earlier, the First Lady had announced that she would dedicate her 65th birthday to raising funds for the completion of the country’s long-delayed National Library.

She urged well-wishers to donate to the fund instead of sending her gifts and paying for newspapers advertisements to mark the days.

In a statement she signed last Thursday, Tinubu said she would spend Sunday “dedicated to God for all His blessings in my life and having a quiet birthday,” and appealed for contributions to an account tagged the “Oluremi@65 Education Fund,” coordinated by the Ministry of Education.

“I wish to appeal to those who would like to send a birthday card, cakes, flowers, greetings in the newspapers or gifts should please send the funds to the designated account for a special project close to my heart… The completion of the National Library,” she said.

“This will be the best birthday present I would ever receive. My love for education has informed my decision to dedicate my birthday to this worthy cause,” MrsTinubu added.

The National Library headquarters project in Abuja has been under construction since 2006, when it was awarded for N8.59bn and expected to be finished in under two years.

However, costs ballooned and progress slowed. By 2023, the physical completion rate stood at about 44 per cent with estimates ranging from N49.6bn to more than N120bn required to finish the 12-storey complex.

The site, located between the National Mosque and the National Ecumenical Centre in Abuja, has long been considered a symbol of a stalled infrastructure project.

Successive administrations have pledged to deliver the project, and in 2025 the Federal Government directed the Tertiary Education Trust Fund to take over funding and resume construction.

Education Minister TunjiAlausa said in April that work would restart by June 1, following site assessments.

The Nigerian Library Association renewed its call in September 2025 for urgent completion, arguing that the facility is critical to education, research and cultural preservation.

MrsTinubu, a former senator and First Lady of Lagos state has often tied her advocacy to education, women’s empowerment and youth development.

The Federal Government has unveiled N-ATLAS, an open-source, multilingual and multimodal large language model that supports Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo and Nigerian-accented English.

Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, DrBosunTijani, who announced this in a statement on his X account on Saturday, stated that the artificial intelligence was launched on the sidelines of the 80th United Nations General Assembly in New York.

According to the minister, N-ATLAS is developed to put African voices at the centre of AI development.

He said, “Starting with Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo and Nigerian-accented English, N-ATLAS places Africa’s voices and diversity at the foundation of AI.

“This is the first step in a broader journey to make Africa a contributor and leader in shaping AI’s future.”

According to the product description on its model card, N-ATLaS LLM features a speech-technology suite that includes language-specific automatic speech recognition models, which aid in transcription, accessibility, and local-language application.

It can be used to build chatbots that answer citizen questions about government services in Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba or Nigerian-accented English.

The ASR models can transcribe radio, TV or online videos into text and generate captions/subtitles in the four local languages.

Call-centre and voice assistant support can deploy ASR and LLM pipelines to capture caller speech in Nigerian accents, transcribe it and supply intent detection or automated replies.

The model can also be used to summarise interviews conducted in local languages.

The product was built by the National Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics and partners, including Awarri Technologies, as part of Nigeria’s language-AI initiative.

The model documentation can be accessed on Hugging Face.