BREAKING: Trump Declines Supporting Tinubu’s Re-election —US Lobbying Firm

A Washington-based lobbying firm, Von Batten-Montague-York L.C., has claimed that United States President Donald Trump has declined to support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election bid ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 presidential election.

The firm, which was engaged by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, made the claim in a statement posted on its verified X account while reacting to a post by Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, about a high-level Nigeria-US security meeting in Washington, DC.

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Ojukwu had disclosed that the Nigerian delegation to the US-Nigeria Joint Working Group meeting was led by National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, while the US delegation was led by Allison Hooker, the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs.

According to her, the meeting was focused on strengthening bilateral counterterrorism cooperation, intelligence sharing, the protection of vulnerable communities, tackling terror financing, border security and the strategic review of the defence roadmap.

She noted that the first edition of the meeting was held in Abuja in January 2026 as part of efforts to deepen security and intelligence cooperation between both countries.

However, reacting to the development, Von Batten-Montague-York L.C. dismissed what it described as attempts by the Tinubu administration to secure Trump’s personal support and an invitation for the Nigerian president to the White House.

The lobbying firm claimed that it had earlier briefed senior members of Atiku’s team about the Tinubu delegation’s meetings with the US State Department.

It alleged that the meetings involved “a lot of discussion about nothing” and described reported efforts to have Trump host Tinubu at the White House as futile.

The firm further claimed that although the United States would continue to engage Nigeria on areas of mutual interest, the US government would not support Tinubu’s re-election bid.

It also made an unsubstantiated allegation against Tinubu, referring to him as an “alleged heroin trafficker.” The allegation was presented by the lobbying firm as part of its argument for why Trump would not endorse the Nigerian president.

The firm also questioned the diplomatic level at which the Nigerian delegation was received in Washington.

According to the lobbying group, based on what it described as established diplomatic protocol, the Nigerian delegation would ordinarily have been led by the Foreign Minister and received at a corresponding level by the US Secretary of State.

It argued that the fact that Ribadu led the delegation and met with an Under Secretary of State, rather than US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, sent what it described as a “diplomatically significant message” about the level at which the Trump administration received the delegation.

The lobbying firm said it would continue working to ensure that efforts by the Nigerian government to influence Washington’s position on the 2027 election did not change what it described as the current reality in the US capital.

“You can send the entire Nigerian government next time,” the firm said, adding that the United States would continue to cooperate with Nigeria where both countries’ interests align.

It nevertheless claimed that Trump had made clear he would not endorse or personally support Tinubu in Nigeria’s forthcoming presidential election.

The statement comes amid growing political activity ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 presidential election, with political parties and opposition figures intensifying efforts to build domestic and international support.

However, the claim by the lobbying firm represents its own position and has not, in the statement provided, been independently confirmed by the White House or the US government.