President Bola Tinubu’s planned trip to the United States to ease rising diplomatic tensions with the Donald Trump administration will no longer proceed as earlier reported, SaharaReporters has learned.
Presidency sources revealed on Monday that while diplomatic discussions between Abuja and Washington are ongoing, no direct meeting between the two leaders has been scheduled.
According to one senior aide, “The meeting between President Bola Tinubu and President Donald Trump is not happening yet. There are no plans for a trip to Washington, D.C. at this time. Conversations are ongoing, but a face-to-face meeting isn’t on the table for now.”
The source added that attention is instead shifting toward the G-20 Summit set to take place in Durban, South Africa, on November 20, where a possible meeting between both leaders could happen.
Earlier reports had claimed that Tinubu and Trump were expected to meet either in Abuja’s State House or at the White House to deepen bilateral cooperation on counterterrorism and global security.
In a previous statement, Daniel Bwala, Media Aide to President Tinubu, said both leaders shared a commitment to combating terrorism and extremism. He made the comment shortly after Trump classified Nigeria as a “country of particular concern” over alleged religious violence.
“Both President Tinubu and President Trump have common interests in fighting insurgency and all forms of terrorism against humanity,” Bwala had stated.
He also highlighted that the Trump administration had provided substantial military support to Nigeria — particularly in the sale of arms — which Tinubu’s government has since built upon to achieve visible progress in the war against terror.
Bwala assured that any misunderstanding between the two governments over whether Nigeria’s terrorist attacks specifically target Christians or affect multiple faiths would be clarified during their next engagement.
However, the conversation between both nations took a tense turn after President Trump issued a strong warning, threatening U.S. military intervention if what he described as the “killing of Christians” in Nigeria continues.
Trump had stated: “If the Nigerian government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the U.S. will immediately stop all aid and may very well go into that disgraced country, ‘guns blazing,’ to wipe out the terrorists committing these atrocities.”
He added that he had instructed the U.S. Department of War to prepare for possible action, promising any strike would be “fast, fierce, and decisive.”
In response, the Nigerian Presidency denied claims of a religious genocide, stressing that the country’s constitution guarantees full religious freedom and equal protection for all faiths.
“Nigeria remains a democracy governed by the rule of law and constitutional guarantees of religious liberty,” President Tinubu stated.
He emphasised that since taking office in 2023, his administration has worked closely with both Christian and Muslim leaders to address nationwide security challenges affecting citizens of all religions.
Tinubu dismissed the narrative of religious persecution as a distortion of Nigeria’s social reality, insisting that his government continues to promote peaceful coexistence and tolerance.
“The description of Nigeria as a country hostile to any religion does not reflect our true national character,” Tinubu said. “Our administration will continue collaborating with the United States and other international partners to ensure mutual understanding and the protection of all communities.”
