President Bola Tinubu’s anticipated trip to the United States to address diplomatic friction with the Donald Trump administration has been aborted, with sources indicating that a face-to-face meeting is not currently on the schedule for Washington, D.C. Instead, the focus has shifted to the upcoming G-20 Summit in Durban, South Africa, on November 20, as the most viable opportunity for the Nigerian President to hold talks with US President Trump.
The initial plan for Tinubu to meet with Trump, either in Abuja or Washington, D.C., was intended to strengthen counterterrorism cooperation and resolve differences after Trump designated Nigeria a “country of particular concern” and threatened military intervention over alleged Christian genocide. Tinubu’s aide had previously confirmed the two leaders shared a mutual interest in combating insurgency.
However, a presidency source confirmed that while conversations between the two nations are ongoing, the high-level meeting is now likely to occur on the sidelines of the South Africa summit. This development follows strong statements from Trump, warning that the US could stop all aid and even resort to military action, “guns-a-blazing,” if the alleged “killing of Christians” continues. President Tinubu’s office has consistently dismissed these claims as a mischaracterization of Nigeria’s religious landscape, affirming the country’s constitutional guarantees of religious liberty and its commitment to tackling security challenges across all faiths. The Durban meeting is now poised to be the crucial platform for reconciling these significant diplomatic differences.
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