Kenneth Okonkwo, spokesperson for the Atiku Abubakar Presidential Campaign, has alleged that President Bola Tinubu is avoiding travel to the United States due to renewed scrutiny surrounding past drug-related allegations and related court records.
Okonkwo raised the accusation in response to President Tinubu’s absence from the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.
This marks the third consecutive year Vice President Kashim Shettima has been designated to lead the Nigerian delegation at the assembly. President Tinubu attended the 78th UNGA in 2023, while Shettima represented Nigeria at both the 2024 and 2025 sessions.
Speaking on Arise News, Okonkwo questioned the President’s continued absence and asserted that Tinubu is deliberately avoiding entry into the United States.
“A reasonable man should say that he’s hiding from the United States of America,” Okonkwo said.
Additionally, he said that Tinubu’s choice to skip the UNGA was influenced by concerns about potential arrest in the United States.
“Tinubu is hiding. He is running away from being arrested by Trump,” Okonkwo alleged.
He claimed that the President’s absence was especially noteworthy because Tinubu had previously shown signs of attending the UNGA.
Additionally, Okonkwo cited remarks made by Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Jimoh Ibrahim, who allegedly said that Tinubu would attend the event and sit in the front row with US President Donald Trump.
He wondered why Tinubu never made it to New York.
Also Read: Nigeria-A Country Currently Running on Autopilot
Backstory…
The controversy over President Bola Tinubu’s absence from the 81st United Nations General Assembly began when the Presidency announced that he would remain in Europe on an extended working vacation while Vice-President Kashim Shettima travelled to New York to represent Nigeria.
The announcement immediately attracted political criticism because it marked Tinubu’s third consecutive absence from the UNGA.
The decision became more controversial because it coincided with renewed attention to US records relating to longstanding allegations against Tinubu.
Recall that in August, Tinubu’s legal team filed a case in a US federal court seeking to prevent the release of records held by the Department of Justice, FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration.
Read Also: Tinubu Moves to Block Release of FBI, DEA Files on Him, Cites Privacy Rights
