ABUJA, NIGERIA — Spokesperson for the African Democratic Congress Presidential Campaign, Kenneth Okonkwo, has claimed that President Bola Tinubu is hiding from the United Nations General Assembly because he does not want the “Venezuela option” of facing possible arrest.
Okonkwo made the claim on Wednesday during an interview on Arise News, where he criticised the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, for speaking without knowing that his principal was allegedly avoiding travel to the United States. He pointed out that Tinubu has not attended any General Assembly session since assuming office, stressing that any reasonable person would conclude that he is hiding.
“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,” Okonkwo stated.
“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. 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. The President did not go.”
The ADC campaign spokesman alleged a connection between Tinubu’s absence from the UNGA and recent statements by US President Donald Trump on drug trafficking. He referenced the case of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who he said is facing legal consequences in the United States over drug-related charges.
“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. 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,” Okonkwo said.
He also referenced the $460,000 civil forfeiture involving Tinubu, describing it as a fact rather than an allegation. “We all know that he paid $460,000 in a plea bargain. That is not an allegation. That is a fact. 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,” he stated.
The Presidency has consistently denied any wrongdoing by Tinubu, describing the US court matter as a civil records-disclosure dispute and not a criminal case. Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga has maintained that neither the court nor the proceedings have established any criminal wrongdoing by the President, and that the records produced so far were redacted under US legal exemptions.
The controversy surrounding Tinubu’s US records has intensified ahead of the 2027 elections, with opposition figures repeatedly raising questions about the President’s past. The ADC campaign has made the issue a central part of its criticism of the Tinubu administration, arguing that the President’s refusal to release the records raises serious concerns about transparency and accountability.
Okonkwo also used the interview to criticise Onanuga for what he described as misinformation about the President’s whereabouts and activities. He urged Nigerians to demand transparency from the government and to hold the President accountable for his actions.
“The President is hiding, and his spokesman is there saying what he does not know. Nigerians deserve to know the truth. They deserve a President who is transparent and accountable. This is why we are fighting to change the narrative in 2027,” Okonkwo said.
The Presidency has not yet responded to Okonkwo’s latest claims. However, Tinubu’s supporters have dismissed the allegations as baseless and politically motivated, describing them as part of a desperate attempt by the opposition to tarnish the President’s image ahead of the 2027 elections. For now, the controversy over Tinubu’s US records and his absence from the UNGA continues to dominate political discourse in Nigeria.
