President Bola Tinubu could face an uncomfortable reception in New York if he attends the upcoming United Nations General Assembly, with a US-based policy advisory and lobbying firm predicting renewed scrutiny over allegations concerning his past in the United States.<\/p>\n
Von Batten-Montague-York, in a statement posted on its verified X account on Monday, said the Nigerian president could be publicly embarrassed during the high-profile diplomatic gathering.<\/p>\n
The firm also cast doubt on the possibility of a private meeting between Tinubu and US President Donald Trump, claiming that officials within the Trump administration would be opposed to such an engagement.<\/p>\n
It attributed the alleged reluctance to what it described as claims linking Tinubu to heroin trafficking\u2014an allegation that remains part of a broader legal and political controversy and has not been established as fact.<\/p>\n
The latest salvo comes against the backdrop of a continuing legal battle in the United States over access to records concerning Tinubu held by American law-enforcement agencies.<\/p>\n
The dispute has gained fresh attention in recent weeks following efforts by a US transparency activist to obtain documents from agencies including the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration.<\/p>\n
Despite the controversy, Von Batten-Montague-York said Tinubu could still travel to New York and participate in the UNGA, citing the privileges and protections afforded representatives of United Nations member states.<\/p>\n
But the firm warned that the president’s presence could put the allegations back in the international spotlight.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe look forward to President Tinubu attending the UNGA next month. Unfortunately for President Tinubu, he is going to be embarrassed at the UN,\u201d the firm said.<\/p>\n
It further claimed that several world leaders expected at the gathering would already be aware of the allegations.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom reports we have seen, from South Africa to Italy, world leaders attending the UNGA will be fully aware of the heroin-trafficking allegations against President Tinubu,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n
The firm went a step further, saying it could mount a publicity campaign in New York if it secures the necessary authorisation.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we are authorised, we will put into operation our plan to ensure every New Yorker within a six-mile radius of UN Headquarters learns about President Tinubu\u2019s alleged role in smuggling poison (heroin) onto American soil,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n
The development adds another layer to the growing political and legal controversy surrounding US records linked to Tinubu. His legal team has previously challenged attempts to make some of the records public.<\/p>\n
With the UNGA expected to draw heads of state and government from around the world, the controversy could place Tinubu under renewed international scrutiny if he makes the trip to New York.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
President Bola Tinubu could face an uncomfortable reception in New York if he attends the upcoming United Nations General Assembly, with a US-based policy advisory and lobbying firm predicting renewed scrutiny over allegations concerning his past in the United States. Von Batten-Montague-York, in a statement posted on its verified X account on Monday, said the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":95796,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[8633,3521,56,3917],"class_list":["post-100055","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","tag-embarrassment","tag-storm","tag-tinubu","tag-unga"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100055","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=100055"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100055\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":100056,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100055\/revisions\/100056"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/95796"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=100055"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=100055"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=100055"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}