Kenneth Okonkwo, spokesperson for the Atiku Abubakar Presidential Campaign, has alleged that President Bola Tinubu is avoiding the United States because of fears that he could be arrested while attending the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
Okonkwo made the claim during an appearance on Arise News while discussing Tinubu’s decision not to attend the UNGA in New York in person. He questioned why the President had again delegated Nigeria’s representation to Vice President Kashim Shettima.
“Tinubu is hiding. He is running away from being arrested by Trump,” Okonkwo alleged, linking the President’s absence to renewed controversy surrounding historical US records involving him. He also referred to comments previously attributed to Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Jimoh Ibrahim, about Tinubu’s expected attendance.
Okonkwo further referenced a longstanding US civil forfeiture matter involving about $460,000 connected to Tinubu in the 1990s. He argued that the issue should be considered when assessing the President’s decision not to travel to New York.
However, the allegation that Tinubu faces an arrest threat in the United States has not been established. The Presidency has rejected claims that the President is prevented from travelling to the US, while officials have described the ongoing controversy as a dispute concerning access to historical government records rather than a criminal case against Tinubu.
Nigeria’s UN envoy, Jimoh Ibrahim, had also said earlier in September that Tinubu and members of his family had unrestricted transit rights during the UNGA and that the Nigerian mission had received no notification of any US restriction on the President’s movement.
The controversy is significant because Tinubu’s absence marks his third consecutive UN General Assembly session represented by Shettima since becoming President. The development has generated political debate over Nigeria’s representation at one of the world’s most prominent diplomatic gatherings.
The 81st UNGA brings world leaders and government representatives together in New York to discuss international security, development, cooperation and other global issues. Nigeria’s delegation is being led by Shettima, while the debate over Tinubu’s absence continues amid renewed political scrutiny of his historical US records.
