DONALD TRUMP’S ALLEGED PRAISE LETTER TO TINUBU WAS FORGED – DIPLOMATIC OBSERVERS

July 24, 2026 • Dons Eze • 2 min read

Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration has been caught at the centre of an embarrassing diplomatic embarrassment after attempting to pass off an
unverified, text-only press statement as an official letter of praise from United States President Donald Trump.

The controversial release, issued by Tinubu government’s Adviser Bayo Onanuga and amplified by pro-All Progressives Congress (APC) channels including the PBATMediaCentre, claimed President Trump commended Abuja’s security record.

However, diplomatic observers quickly exposed the release as a sham after the administration failed to produce an actual White House letterhead, scanned document, or authentic signature from the U.S. President.

The scandal comes at a terrible time for the Tinubu administration, following a major legislative defeat in Washington where U.S. lawmakers voted to completely freeze foreign aid to Nigeria over ongoing religious violence.

The controversy escalated when observers placed the text statement side-by-side with verified White House diplomatic correspondence, such as President Trump’s signed letter to Argentine President Javier Milei.

Standard White House diplomatic letters are routinely archived as scanned documents complete with official presidential seals, watermarks, and Donald Trump’s physical signature. In contrast, the document distributed by APC strategists consisted entirely of typed text embedded inside a government press release.

While Tinubu’s media team regularly publishes high-resolution photographs and scanned documents for routine domestic engagements, they provided no scanned image of the alleged security commendation from Washington. Foreign policy analysts caution that quoting a letter in plain text, including typed dates and signature blocks, without producing the original document raises significant questions regarding its authenticity.

The claims of presidential praise directly contradict official legislative actions taking place in Washington. Despite a recent visit to Abuja by U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Frank Garcia, the U.S. House of Representatives took a decisive stance against the Nigerian government.

A Tale of Two Letters: On the left, we have an actual copy of President @realDonaldTrump’s letter to Argentine President @JMilei.

On the right, we have what an account linked to President #Tinubu, using the Facebook handle @PBATMediaCentre, has posted as President Trump’s letter… pic.twitter.com/VdAu5ssLlZ

Dons Eze

DONS EZE, PhD, Political Philosopher and Journalist of over four decades standing, worked in several newspaper houses across the country, and rose to the positions of Editor and General Manager. A UNESCO Fellow in Journalism, Dr. Dons Eze, a prolific writer and author of many books, attended several courses on Journalism and Communication in both Nigeria and overseas, including a Postgraduate Course on Journalism at Warsaw, Poland; Strategic Communication and Practical Communication Approach at RIPA International, London, the United Kingdom, among others.