Abuja, Nigeria — Nigeria’s presidency has denied a report claiming that President Bola Tinubu is scheduled to visit the United States this week to meet with US Vice President J.D. Vance.
Temitope Ajayi, the Senior Special Assistant to President Tinubu on Media and Publicity, dismissed the report on Monday, labelling it as false and misleading. He noted that if President Tinubu were to visit the White House, he would be meeting with President Donald Trump, not the Vice President.
“If President Tinubu is going to the White House, he won’t be going to see a Vice President,” Mr. Ajayi wrote on his official X (formerly Twitter) account.
Dispute over Religious Persecution
The clarification follows heightened global scrutiny on Nigeria amid a controversial statement by President Trump, who recently threatened possible military intervention over the alleged persecution of Christians in the West African nation.
In a social media post over the weekend, President Trump issued a strong warning:
“If the Nigerian Government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the USA will immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria, and may very well go into that now disgraced country, ‘guns-a-blazing,’ to completely wipe out the Islamic terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities.”
Tinubu Rejects ‘Christian Genocide’ Claims
In response to the growing controversy, President Tinubu issued an official statement rejecting any claims of a “Christian genocide,” reaffirming that Nigeria remains a democracy committed to religious freedom.
The President emphasized that the Nigerian Constitution guarantees freedom of religion and that his administration actively engages with religious leaders across faiths to tackle insecurity.
“Nigeria stands firmly as a democracy governed by constitutional guarantees of religious liberty,” President Tinubu said, adding that external narratives portraying the country as religiously intolerant are “inaccurate and unreflective” of the nation’s diversity.
He further affirmed Nigeria’s commitment to continued collaboration with the United States and international partners to safeguard freedom of religion for all citizens.
Add Comment