A United States-based lobbying firm, Von Batten-Montague-York L.C., has said it is working to prevent any proposed meeting between President Bola Tinubu and U.S. President Donald Trump during the upcoming United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
In a statement posted on X, the Washington-based firm reacted to remarks made by Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Jimoh Ibrahim, regarding a possible meeting between the two leaders.
According to the firm, it has already forwarded a video of Ibrahim’s comments to senior officials in the Trump administration.
During a television interview several weeks ago, Ibrahim disclosed that President Tinubu was expected to meet with President Trump on the sidelines of next month’s UN General Assembly.
Responding to the claim, the lobbying firm said it also plans to circulate the video to members of the U.S. Congress and officials at the U.S. State Department.
The firm argued that any meeting between Tinubu and Trump could be interpreted by some Nigerians as an endorsement of the Nigerian president despite what it described as longstanding controversies surrounding historical U.S. court records involving Tinubu.
In its statement, the firm said:
“We have shared the video with senior members of President Donald Trump’s administration. In the coming days, we will also share it with members of Congress and the State Department.
“President Tinubu and his associates are attempting to convince Nigerians and the world that President Trump condones the drug trafficking allegations against Tinubu.”
