The Presidency has dismissed claims that President Bola Tinubu is scheduled to travel to the United States on Tuesday for a meeting with U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance.
Temitope Ajayi, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, refuted the report in a post on his official X account on Monday, describing it as false and misleading. He said the publication had fuelled unnecessary speculation and “uninformed commentaries.”
Ajayi clarified that if the President were to visit the White House, he would be meeting with President Donald Trump, not the Vice President.
He wrote, “There’s a Sahara Reporters story that President Tinubu is going to the U.S. on Tuesday to see U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance. That story is not true. I can see that the fake news by Sahara has become the basis for some uninformed commentaries since yesterday. If President Tinubu is going to the White House, he won’t be going to see a Vice President.”
ALSO READ
The clarification followed media reports suggesting that Tinubu was planning a diplomatic visit to Washington amid growing international attention on alleged persecution of Christians in Nigeria. The reports came shortly after former U.S. President Donald Trump warned of possible military action against Nigeria.
Trump, in a post on his Truth Social platform on Saturday, threatened that the United States might “go in guns blazing” if the Nigerian government failed to end what he described as the killing of Christians.
He stated, “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.
“I am hereby instructing our Department of War to prepare for possible action. If we attack, it will be fast, vicious, and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs attack our cherished Christians.”
In response to the controversy, President Tinubu dismissed claims of a “Christian genocide,” insisting that Nigeria remains a democracy that upholds religious freedom and equality for all.
“Nigeria stands firmly as a democracy governed by constitutional guarantees of religious liberty,” he said in an official statement via his X handle.
The President added that since 2023, his administration has engaged both Christian and Muslim leaders to promote peace and tackle security challenges affecting citizens across all faiths and regions.
“The characterisation of Nigeria as religiously intolerant does not reflect our national reality, nor does it take into consideration the consistent and sincere efforts of the government to safeguard freedom of religion and beliefs for all Nigerians,” Tinubu stated.
Reaffirming Nigeria’s commitment to peaceful coexistence, he said, “Religious freedom and tolerance have been a core tenet of our collective identity and shall always remain so. Nigeria opposes religious persecution and does not encourage it.”
Tinubu also pledged continued collaboration with the U.S. and other international partners to deepen understanding and promote the protection of all faith communities.
“Nigeria is a country with constitutional guarantees to protect citizens of all faiths. Our administration is committed to working with the United States government and the international community to deepen understanding and cooperation on the protection of communities of all faiths,” he affirmed.
