A United States lobbying firm associated with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar says a proposed meeting between Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu and US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) will not take place. The firm, Von Batten-Montague-York, L.C., also claims it has helped derail efforts to secure US support and a private White House-style encounter.
The claims come amid mixed or evolving indications about whether a meeting was ever formally arranged. Nigeria’s Presidency later confirms Tinubu will not attend the 81st UNGA in person and instead has Vice President Kashim Shettima lead the delegation. Earlier, Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Jimoh Ibrahim, had suggested Tinubu would sit near Trump in the UN General Assembly Hall, which raised the possibility of an encounter.
Outlet coverage emphasizes the same central point—Tinubu will not be physically present at UNGA—but differs in emphasis. The reports foreground the lobbying firm’s messaging and its assertion that the effort has failed, while noting that the White House and Nigerian government have not independently confirmed a scheduled formal meeting. The Presidency’s spokesman previously dismissed the firm’s role as tied to political interests rather than official US or Trump actions.
