The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has dismissed the Presidency’s presentation of a letter from United States President Donald Trump to President Bola Tinubu as an endorsement of the administration, insisting that it would not shield the President from electoral defeat in 2027.
The opposition party said diplomatic correspondence between world leaders was a routine aspect of international relations and should not be interpreted as a referendum on the performance of the Tinubu administration.
In a statement issued on Thursday by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC accused the Presidency of seeking international validation instead of addressing the country’s pressing security and economic challenges.
According to the party, the letter does not reflect the worsening insecurity across the country, including the continued captivity of women and children in parts of Borno and Kaiama in Kwara State, as well as persistent attacks on communities in Benue and other states.
“The true measure of any government is not what is written about it abroad, but what its citizens experience every day,” the statement said.
The ADC argued that the excitement surrounding the letter was misplaced, saying it did not change the daily realities faced by Nigerians battling insecurity, kidnapping and violent crime.
The party also pointed to the United States Department of State’s travel advisory on Nigeria, noting that several parts of the country remain under Level 3 and Level 4 travel warnings because of terrorism, kidnapping, crime and civil unrest.
It questioned how the Presidency could portray the correspondence as an endorsement while the U.S. government continued to advise its citizens against travelling to some parts of Nigeria.
“We therefore wonder how correspondence from a government that designates several Nigerian states as ‘Do Not Travel’ areas can be regarded as an endorsement,” the statement added.
The ADC maintained that President Trump’s letter was merely an exchange of diplomatic courtesies between two heads of state and did not amount to an assessment of the Tinubu administration’s overall performance.
The party urged the Federal Government to focus on improving security and delivering tangible results rather than celebrating what it described as routine diplomatic communication.
It added that Nigerians would ultimately judge the administration by its ability to improve their lives, rather than by letters received from foreign leaders.
