A claim alleging that Donald Trump made remarks about Bola Tinubu’s presidency and the Nigerian elections has surfaced online.
The claim originated from a Facebook post by a page called Express, which identifies as a media company on the platform.
The post attributed a statement to Donald Trump, in which he allegedly said he does not recognize Bola Tinubu as Nigeria’s president, describing the last election as a “total disaster” and “nothing to write home about.”
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The Post read:
CLAIM
Donald Trump does not recognise Tinubu as Nigeria’s president.
THE FINDINGS
Findings by The FactCheckHub shows that the claim is FALSE!
When we clicked the link attached to the post, it did not lead to any credible news report. Instead, it redirected us to a blank website repeatedly displaying a “Congratulations, You Won” message.
Clicking on this message triggered pop-ups and ads an indication of a browser hijacker malware often used to scam users through deceptive sites.
A keyword search using phrases from the post did not results in any news reports as such would be widely reported by local and international media outfits.
Instead it led our researcher to multiple reposts of the same claim, as well as unrelated news reports concerning recent court rulings on Tinubu’s drug-related records.
One of the reports found was from the State House, detailing a recent meeting in Paris where President Bola Ahmed Tinubu received Mr. Massad Boulos, a Senior Advisor for Africa from former U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration.
The discussion centered on establishing a strategic economic and security partnership between Nigeria, Africa, and the United States, built on mutual respect, prosperity, and regional stability which was also reported by Punch Newspapers.
THE VERDICT
The claim that Donald Trump does not recognise Bola Tinubu as Nigeria’s president is false; as there are no credible reports to support the statement as such would have been widely reported by media outlets.
Seasoned fact-checker and researcher Fatimah Quadri has written numerous fact-checks, explainers, and media literacy pieces for The FactCheckHub in an effort to combat information disorder. She can be reached at sunmibola_q on X or fquadri@icirnigeria.org.
