By Obinna Uballa
The Presidency has denied reports claiming that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is scheduled to travel to the United States this week for a meeting with U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance, describing the story as “false, misleading, and deliberately sensational.”
Presidential aide Temitope Ajayi, Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the President, in a post on his official X handle on Monday, faulted an online report by Sahara Reporters that alleged Tinubu would visit Washington on Tuesday for “top-level diplomatic engagements.”
Ajayi said the story was fabricated to mislead the public and had already triggered “uninformed and unnecessary commentaries.”
“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,” Ajayi wrote.
“If President Tinubu is going to the White House, he won’t be going to see a Vice President. The fake news by Sahara has become the basis for needless speculation since yesterday.”
The rebuttal comes amid mounting international attention on Nigeria following remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump, who at the weekend accused the Nigerian government of allowing the persecution of Christians and threatened possible U.S. military action.
In a post on his Truth Social account, Trump warned that his administration “may very well go into that now disgraced country, guns-a-blazing,” if the Nigerian government fails to stop the killings.
“If the Nigerian Government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the USA will immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria,” Trump wrote.
“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.”
The comment sparked global reactions and renewed scrutiny of Nigeria’s security challenges.
Responding to the controversy, President Tinubu dismissed allegations of a “Christian genocide” in Nigeria, insisting that his government remains committed to religious freedom, equality, and constitutional democracy.
“Nigeria stands firmly as a democracy governed by constitutional guarantees of religious liberty,” Tinubu stated via his official X handle.
“Since 2023, our administration has maintained open engagement with Christian and Muslim leaders alike and continues to address security challenges affecting citizens across all faiths and regions.”
Tinubu further rejected what he described as “external narratives” portraying Nigeria as a country of religious intolerance, stressing that such claims fail to reflect the nation’s diversity and government’s ongoing peace efforts.
“The characterisation of Nigeria as religiously intolerant does not reflect our national reality. The government continues to safeguard freedom of religion and belief for all Nigerians,” he said.
Reaffirming his commitment to peaceful coexistence, Tinubu added: “Religious freedom and tolerance have always been part of our collective identity. Nigeria opposes all forms of religious persecution and will continue to collaborate with the United States and the international community to promote mutual understanding and protect communities of all faiths.”
The Presidency urged the media and the public to rely on verified information from official government channels and avoid sharing unsubstantiated reports capable of causing diplomatic misunderstandings.
