Spokesperson for the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential campaign, Kenneth Okonkwo, has alleged that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu avoided attending the 81st United Nations General Assembly because of concerns over a possible arrest in the United States.
Okonkwo made the allegation during an interview on Arise News on Wednesday, where he also criticised the Presidency’s explanation for Tinubu’s absence from the UNGA.
The ADC campaign spokesman said Tinubu had not attended a session of the United Nations General Assembly since becoming President and questioned why he was not physically present at the current gathering.
He also recalled that Nigeria’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Jimoh Ibrahim, had reportedly indicated that Tinubu would attend the event and sit alongside US President Donald Trump.
Okonkwo said, “Onanuga is there saying what he does not know, and the President is somewhere hiding. Maybe because he does not want the Venezuela option, because he ought to be at the UNGA in person.”
He continued, “What is he doing? He has not been to the United Nations for three consecutive years. A reasonable man should say that he is hiding from the United States of America.”
According to him, expectations that Tinubu would attend the UNGA and meet Trump did not materialise.
“Remember, the ambassador to the United Nations, Jimoh Ibrahim, had told us gleefully that the President was going to come and sit in the front row with President Trump to represent us. What happened? Lies,” Okonkwo stated.
He further linked Tinubu’s absence to comments by Trump concerning alleged drug trafficking, while also referring to claims surrounding records involving the Nigerian President in the United States.
“The President did not go. But there is a nexus. How come President Trump said anybody who is involved in drug trafficking would be taken and put in jail? The Venezuelan president is in jail because of that,” he said.
Okonkwo also alleged that a legal filing in the US involved a request concerning Tinubu’s records, and referred to a reported payment of $460,000 in connection with a plea bargain.
He stated, “Now, how come there is a paper filed by your President that he does not want his file to be released in the United States of America?”
“That is allegedly for his involvement in alleged drug dealing, and, of course, we all know that he paid $460,000 in a plea bargain. That is not an allegation. That is a fact,” he added.
Concluding his argument, the ADC spokesperson said the circumstances surrounding Tinubu’s absence had created a connection between the President and the US developments he referenced.
“That one has been sorted out, and they say that was in order to assuage his involvement in narcotic trading and trafficking after his deposition. So, there is a nexus here, and every reasonable man will say he is running away from the United States of America,” Okonkwo said.
The claims were made by Okonkwo during the interview and are presented as his allegations.
