Tinubu will meet Trump when ‘conditions are right,’ FG says amid US-Nigeria strain

The Federal Government says President Bola Tinubu will travel to the United States and meet with President Donald Trump once “the circumstances are appropriate,” as diplomatic tensions between Abuja and Washington deepen.

Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, offered the clarification on Friday during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today. His comments follow growing concern over Trump’s recent redesignation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC), a move that has widened a diplomatic rift between both nations.

Idris dismissed suggestions that Tinubu is avoiding the US, recalling that the president had visited shortly after taking office.

“He will go when the situation is right. The president has already been to America – I was with him at the UN,” Idris said.

Tensions spiked after Trump accused Nigeria of permitting the “mass killing of Christians,” placing the country back on the CPC list. In an unusually forceful statement, the US president threatened to halt all American assistance to Nigeria and even hinted at possible military engagement.

“If the Nigerian Government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the U.S.A. will immediately stop all aid and may very well go into that now disgraced country, ‘guns-a-blazing,’” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. He further ordered the US “Department of War” to prepare for potential action, promising any move would be “fast, vicious, and sweet.”

The Nigerian government has strongly rejected the allegations. President Tinubu insisted that Nigeria upholds constitutional protections for citizens of all faiths and dismissed claims of religious persecution.

In a bid to calm rising tensions, the Federal Government dispatched a delegation led by National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu to Washington for consultations. Idris said the visit is part of a broader approach to clarify Nigeria’s security realities and maintain robust diplomatic ties with the US.

While acknowledging ongoing security challenges – including banditry, terrorism, and a series of high-profile school abductions in recent days – Idris maintained that significant efforts are underway to stabilise the country.

The Nigerian-US friction gained further international attention on Thursday when the US Congress held a public hearing on Nigeria’s CPC status, scrutinising Trump’s claims and Nigeria’s internal security concerns.

With attacks in Kebbi and Niger states leaving dozens of students abducted this week, insecurity remains at the centre of both domestic debate and international scrutiny.

Despite the tensions, the Tinubu administration insists it remains committed to dialogue, cooperation, and strengthening ties with the US, while waiting for the “right moment” for a presidential visit.