A United States (US)-based lobbying firm, Von Batten-Montague-York, L.C., hired by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has said that President Bola Tinubu will be embarrassed for allegedly smuggling drugs into the country in the past if he attends the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.
The firm stated that, contrary to claims, the President would be welcome and not arrested on arrival into the country, but would be embarrassed if he attends the UN General Assembly.
It made the clarification in a statement released on Saturday on its social media handle to clear the air on the alleged plans to arrest President Tinubu but his US counterpart, Donald Trump, at the UNGA.
“There is no plan to arrest Nigerian President Bola Tinubu (@officialABAT) over his alleged involvement in heroin smuggling if he attends the @UN General Assembly this month. Any claim to the contrary is untrue. What is true is that President Tinubu will be embarrassed in New York,” the statement said.
The lobby firm made the statement in reaction to Nigerian Permanent Representative at the United Nations, Jimoh Ibrahim’s statement that “President Tinubu will be sitting very very close to President Donald Trump in the front row at the United Nations General Assembly.”
Atiku hired lobby firm also said, “The @UN and @WhiteHouse meeting with President @realDonaldTrump that President Tinubu has been pushing for is not going to happen. The @FBI claims that Tinubu was part of a criminal organization that smuggled heroin from #Nigeria into the United States during the 1980s and 1990s.
It added, “An alleged heroin trafficker like President Tinubu has no business meeting with President Trump. We will continue to ensure that the White House and Congress fully understand that Nigerian President Tinubu is an alleged heroin trafficker and a liability to President Trump and the United States.”
Presidential spokespersons, Bayo Onanuga and Daniel Bwala, could not be reached on phone for comments. The duo had also yet to respond to the Peoples Gazette request for comments on their WhatsApp lines as of the time this report was filed.
However, the administration of Mr Tinubu earlier mocked Mr Abubakar for being swindled by what it described as a con Washington lobbyist Karl-Marx Edward Okeke-Von Batten, adding that Mr Tinubu’s past record was merely being revisited ahead of the 2027 presidential election.