The Presidency has rejected suggestions that President Bola Tinubu stayed away from the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York over fears that he could be arrested in the United States.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and Protocol, Ademola Oshodi, dismissed the claim as politically motivated, insisting that there was no impediment preventing Tinubu from travelling to the United States.
Oshodi spoke during an appearance on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, amid renewed public debate over Tinubu’s decision not to personally attend the UN General Assembly.
The Presidency had announced that Vice President Kashim Shettima would lead Nigeria’s delegation to the 81st session in New York, marking Tinubu’s third consecutive absence from the gathering.
Responding to suggestions that the President’s absence was connected to possible legal action against him in the US, Oshodi said such claims were being driven by political considerations.
“There is absolutely no impediment,” the presidential aide said, describing the claim as “pure politics” and suggesting that some people were making such statements for electoral advantage.
Oshodi further argued that the United States had previously maintained diplomatic dealings with foreign leaders despite serious political differences, citing former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and former Cuban leader Fidel Castro among others.
He maintained that Tinubu himself had travelled to the United States on previous occasions without any such incident.
“Bola Tinubu, the president, has been in America. I was there with him twice,” Oshodi said, adding that he had accompanied the President during some of those trips.
He subsequently described the suggestion that Tinubu could be arrested in the US as “pure nonsense” and reiterated that he considered it politically motivated.
The comments followed criticism over Tinubu’s decision to delegate representation at UNGA to Shettima for the third consecutive year.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has questioned the repeated absence, arguing that the President’s personal presence at the UN gathering provides opportunities for direct diplomatic engagements, investment discussions and negotiations with other world leaders.
The Presidency, however, has maintained that Tinubu’s absence does not diminish Nigeria’s role at the international gathering. Oshodi said the President was focused on domestic priorities, including the economy and security, while Nigeria would remain adequately represented through the delegation led by Shettima.
Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Jimoh Ibrahim, had also previously dismissed suggestions that Tinubu faced restrictions on travelling to the US, saying the Nigerian Mission in New York had received no notification from American authorities imposing any such restriction.