Presidency debunks claims of Tinubu’s planned meeting with US VP Vance
By Jeffrey Agbo
The Presidency has denied circulating reports alleging that President Bola Tinubu is preparing to travel to the United States on Tuesday for a meeting with US Vice President J.D. Vance.
Temitope Ajayi, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, refuted the claim in a post shared on his official X account on Monday. He described the report as completely false and misleading, accusing its authors of spreading misinformation that has triggered “uninformed commentaries.”
Ajayi clarified that if President Tinubu were to visit Washington, he would meet with President Donald Trump, not the Vice President.
“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,” he wrote.
The rebuttal followed reports claiming Tinubu was set for “high-level diplomatic engagements” in Washington amid global reactions to allegations of Christian persecution in Nigeria and recent threats by former U.S. President Donald Trump.
Trump, in a post on his Truth Social account on Saturday, warned that the United States might intervene militarily if the Nigerian government failed to end the alleged killing of Christians.
“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,” he said.
Amid the controversy, President Tinubu over the weekend dismissed any notion of “Christian genocide,” stressing that Nigeria remains a democracy that upholds freedom of religion for all.
In a statement posted via his verified X account, Tinubu reaffirmed that the Nigerian Constitution guarantees liberty of belief and that his administration continues to engage faith leaders across all religions to promote peace and address security challenges.
“Nigeria stands firmly as a democracy governed by constitutional guarantees of religious liberty,” Tinubu said.
“Since 2023, our administration has maintained an open and active engagement with Christian and Muslim leaders alike and continues to address security challenges which affect citizens across faiths and regions.”
He also rejected foreign narratives portraying Nigeria as a country intolerant of religion, saying such descriptions are inaccurate and disregard the nation’s diverse and harmonious reality.
“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,” he stated.
Reaffirming that religious tolerance is central to Nigeria’s identity, Tinubu added: “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.”
He further pledged continued partnership with the United States and other allies to strengthen cooperation and protect the rights 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,” Tinubu affirmed.
