ADC to Tinubu: Trump’s Letter Will Not Help You
By Atlantic Digest News Desk | Thursday, 23 July 2026
Nigeria’s main opposition party, the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has dismissed the Presidency’s publication of a letter from United States President Donald Trump to President Bola Tinubu, insisting that diplomatic correspondence cannot erase the country’s deepening security and economic challenges.
In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC argued that the Presidency’s celebration of the letter reflected “desperation for any form of validation” rather than evidence of improved governance.
The party said that while it respects the office of the U.S. President, letters exchanged between heads of state are routine diplomatic communications and should not be interpreted as an endorsement of the Tinubu administration.
According to the ADC:
“A letter from a foreign president, however well-intentioned, cannot substitute for the verdict of the Nigerian people. The true measure of any government is not what is written about it abroad, but what its citizens experience every day.”
The opposition further argued that President Trump’s letter did not change the reality of insecurity across Nigeria, noting that many communities remain under attack while hundreds of kidnapped victims are still in captivity.
The statement added:
“President Trump’s communication changes nothing. It did not say that insecurity has been overcome or that Nigerians can once again travel freely, farm safely, and sleep without fear.”
The ADC also pointed to the United States’ travel advisory, observing that several Nigerian states 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 letter as an endorsement while the official U.S. government continued to advise its citizens against travelling to parts of Nigeria.
The party stated:
“We therefore wonder how correspondence from a government that designates several Nigerian states as ‘Do Not Travel’ areas can be regarded as an endorsement.”
Reiterating that Nigerians would judge the administration by its performance rather than international goodwill, the ADC urged the Federal Government to focus on addressing insecurity and improving living conditions.
The statement concluded:
“Ultimately, Nigerians will not judge this government by the letters it receives from foreign capitals. They will judge it by whether it improved the lives of the people it was elected to serve.”
The Presidency had earlier released President Trump’s letter praising President Tinubu’s leadership in the fight against terrorism and reaffirming continued security cooperation between Nigeria and the United States. The exchange has since generated fresh political debate, with both the government and opposition presenting sharply different interpretations of its significance.
