All Progressives Congress, APC, chieftain Bashir Ahmad has dismissed claims by a United States lobbying firm that President Bola Tinubu will not meet his American counterpart, Donald Trump, during the United Nations General Assembly, UNGA.
The lobbying firm, Von Batten Montague York, had claimed in a statement on Monday that a meeting Tinubu had reportedly been seeking with Trump at the UNGA would not take place.
The firm further alleged that key officials in the Trump administration had ruled out a private meeting between the two presidents over allegations against Tinubu.
Reacting to the claim, Bashir described it as a political attack presented as certainty.
The APC chieftain maintained that allegations against Tinubu should not be treated as established facts without credible evidence or due process.
“Tinubu is the democratically elected President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and allegations, however loudly repeated, are not convictions,” Bashir said.
He argued that serious allegations should be subjected to credible evidence and due process rather than presented as facts because they support a particular political narrative.
Bashir also criticised the firm’s claim that Trump would refuse to meet Tinubu, saying such a declaration was premature unless officially confirmed by the White House or relevant diplomatic authorities.
“It is equally irresponsible to declare, in advance, that President Donald Trump will refuse to meet President Tinubu or that the Nigerian President will be embarrassed at the United Nations.
“Unless the White House or the relevant diplomatic authorities make such a position official, these claims are nothing more than speculation presented as fact,” he said.
