Kenneth Okonkwo, spokesperson for the Atiku Abubakar Presidential Campaign, has alleged that President Bola Tinubu is avoiding the United States because he fears possible arrest by US President Donald Trump.
Okonkwo made the claim while reacting to Tinubu’s absence from the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York on an appearance on Arise New’s Prime Time programme, where Vice President Kashim Shettima is representing Nigeria.
Okonkwo questioned why Tinubu had again stayed away from the annual gathering, alleging that the president was deliberately avoiding the United States because of renewed attention to past drug-related allegations and legal records involving him.
“Tinubu is hiding. He is running away from being arrested by Trump,” Okonkwo alleged.
He also said Tinubu’s continued absence from the UNGA was difficult to explain, noting that the president had not personally attended the gathering for three consecutive years after attending the 2023 session.
“What is he doing? He has not been to the United Nations for three consecutive years. A reasonable man should say that he is hiding from the United States of America,” Okonkwo said.
The former Labour Party chieftain also referred to earlier comments attributed to Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Jimoh Ibrahim, who had said Tinubu would attend the UNGA and sit in the front row with Trump.
“Remember, the ambassador to the United Nations, Jimoh Ibrahim, had told us gleefully that the president was going to come and sit in the front row with President Trump to represent us. What happened? Lies. The President did not go,” he said.
Okonkwo linked Tinubu’s absence to renewed discussions over historical US records concerning the president, including a civil forfeiture matter involving about $460,000 in 1993.
“Now, how come there is a paper filed by your president that he does not want his file to be released in the United States of America? That is allegedly for his involvement in alleged drug dealing,” he said.
The current legal dispute concerns access to US government records under the Freedom of Information Act. The Presidency has maintained that the matter is a civil records disclosure dispute and not a criminal case against Tinubu.
“For clarity, the matter is a civil records disclosure dispute under the United States Freedom of Information Act. It is not a criminal case against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, nor has the court found him guilty of any criminal wrongdoing,” Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga said.
There have also been earlier claims that Tinubu could face arrest if he travelled to the US for the UNGA. However, Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Jimoh Ibrahim, said in September that the Nigerian Mission in New York had received no communication from the US government indicating any restriction on Tinubu’s movement.
Ibrahim also said representatives of member states attending official UN activities enjoy protections under the 1947 UN US Headquarters Agreement.
The Presidency has meanwhile said Tinubu’s absence from the UNGA is because he is on an extended working vacation and has continued to direct affairs of government from abroad.
The State House said Tinubu departed Nigeria on August 30 and later travelled to Paris, where he held meetings with French President Emmanuel Macron and other officials. It said he had delegated Shettima to represent him at the UNGA.
Tinubu attended the 78th UNGA in 2023, while Shettima represented him at the 2024 and 2025 sessions.
Okonkwo, however, maintained that the President’s repeated absence raises questions about his decision to stay away from the United States.
“Every reasonable man will say he is running away from the United States of America,” he said.
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