UNGA: Your Seat Is Next To Trump’s, Why Are You Running From US ---- Atiku Asks Tinubu

Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Atiku Abubakar, says that President Bola Tinubu cannot ordinarily be absent from the United Nations General Assembly, UNGA, for the third consecutive terms if there is nothing actually pursuing him from setting foot in the United States.
Atiku therefore, asked Tinubu to explain, his reasons for avoiding the UNGA, noting that the repeated absences required an explanation, as UNGA was a forum that provided global leaders of governments with opportunities to hold bilateral meetings, pursue partnerships and advance their countries’ interests, even as Nigeria would not be an exception.
According to Atiku, what is President Bola Tinubu avoiding by being absent at the UNGA if nothing is actually pursuing him from setting foot in the United States, he is being accused of?
Atiku is raising, the questions even as it has now been confirmed that Tinubu would be represented by the Vice President, Kashim Shettima, at the global event that would kick off tomorrow Tuesday, September 22, 2026.
The former Vice President spoke through his spokesman, Phrank Shaibu, noting Tinubu’s absence from the 79th UNGA in 2024 and the 80th in 2025, sessions with the same Shettima representing him.  “The UNGA is one of the world’s most important diplomatic gatherings. It brings together the representatives of the UN’s 193 member states and provides a unique platform for presidents and prime ministers to defend their countries’ interests, negotiate partnerships and shape global decisions on trade, security and development.
“Vice President Shettima may represent Nigeria capably, but representation by delegation cannot permanently substitute for the personal authority, visibility and responsibility of the President.
"Tinubu cannot continue to treat Nigeria’s seat at the world’s biggest diplomatic table as though it were an inconvenient appointment that can be endlessly outsourced.
“When a President makes himself absent from that stage for three consecutive years, his country loses opportunities. Investment does not follow silence. International capital does not pursue a country whose leader repeatedly abandons the room in which consequential economic relationships are being built.”
Apparently referring to Tinubu’s much-hyped $9 million engagement of a US lobbying firm, Atiku wondered why after spending such amount of money Tinubu, would still not be prepared to visit the US.
Atoku's words: “What exactly did Nigerians purchase with that money? Why spend millions of dollars lobbying Washington while Tinubu repeatedly stays away from New York? Why hire lobbyists to speak for Nigeria in America when the Nigerian President cannot summon the courage to appear at the world’s biggest diplomatic gathering on American soil?”
On the earlier claims by  Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Jimoh Ibrahim that a seat had been secured for Tinubu “not too far from where the US President, Donald Trump, will be seated,” Atiku added, “The seat was secured, but the President disappeared.
“If proximity to President Trump was considered such a diplomatic achievement, why did Tinubu abandon the opportunity and send his deputy? Why celebrate securing a strategic seat for the President when the President had no intention of occupying it?
“That contradiction becomes even more scandalous when Nigerians remember that Tinubu’s administration committed up to $9 million of Nigeria’s scarce foreign exchange to American lobbyists supposedly hired to improve its standing before the government and people of the United States.
“What exactly did Nigerians purchase with that money? Why spend millions of dollars lobbying Washington while Tinubu repeatedly stays away from New York? 
"Why hire lobbyists to speak for Nigeria in America when the Nigerian President cannot summon the courage to appear at the world’s biggest diplomatic gathering on American soil?
“Did the lobbyists fail, or is Tinubu’s American baggage simply too heavy for any public-relations firm to carry? The President’s persistent avoidance of the United States inevitably invites troubling questions.
“Is Tinubu afraid that he could become Donald Trump’s next Nicolás Maduro* ?
“Is he haunted by the controversies surrounding his American academic claims and his documented drug-related forfeiture history?
“Is this the kind of President Nigeria deserves — one who projects bravado at home but appears terrified of scrutiny abroad?
“These questions were legitimate because of Case No. 93 C 4483 before the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, in which the United States government instituted forfeiture proceedings concerning funds held in multiple accounts in the name of Bola Tinubu and associated companies.
“The verified complaint was brought under federal laws governing the forfeiture of assets that were connected to narcotics trafficking and money laundering. The complaint stated that the funds represented proceeds of narcotics trafficking and money laundering.
“A supporting sworn affidavit by an Internal Revenue Service criminal-investigation agent similarly stated that funds in accounts controlled by Bola Tinubu were connected to drug-trafficking proceeds. The proceedings eventually resulted in the forfeiture of approximately $460,000 to the United States government.
“Nigerians are therefore entitled to ask whether Tinubu’s three consecutive UNGA absences have anything to do with this documented American history. We are not asserting that Tinubu is legally prohibited from entering the United States. The Presidency has announced no such restriction. But if no legal, diplomatic, medical or personal impediment exists, why has Tinubu repeatedly avoided the UNGA since 2024?
“Is he afraid of renewed scrutiny? Is he uncomfortable appearing on American soil amid continuing public interest in the narcotics drug related forfeiture proceedings? Has one man’s personal history become a burden on Nigeria’s diplomatic engagement?
“Tinubu’s conduct presents a glaring contrast between the image he cultivates at home and the timidity he displayed on the international stage.
“So why is Tinubu eternally paranoid about the global podium, especially when that podium stands in the United States?
“Here is a President who professes tigritude at home, draped in an assortment of aliases, including ‘Jagaban,’ the leader of warriors in the Borgu Emirate, and ‘Asiwaju,’ the one who supposedly leads from the front, but who becomes a whimpering, lily-livered and timid chicken on the global stage.
“Nigeria’s foreign standing has never been more miniaturised. Under Tinubu, the country rarely features prominently in continental leadership, the Commonwealth or world affairs.
“His government deployed Nigerian fighter jets and troops to Benin Republic following the December 2025 attempted coup while bandits, terrorists and freelance criminals continued to terrorise Nigerians at home.
“Nigeria could project military power across its border, yet its President could not project Nigeria’s voice from its seat at the United Nations. That contradiction is humiliating.
“If there is no impediment, the Presidency must explain this serial absenteeism. If an impediment exists, Nigerians have a right to know. Nigeria is bigger than Bola. Our diplomatic influence, economic interests and international reputation must not be subordinated to Tinubu’s American baggage.
“After committing up to $9 million to American lobbyists, Nigerians deserve more than silence, evasions and another empty presidential seat at the United Nations. Is this the kind of President Nigeria deserves?
“Mr Bola (Tinubu,) your seat was reportedly secured near President Donald Trump. Why did you refuse to occupy it? What exactly are you afraid of in America?”