Tinubu’s Inauguration: President Joe Biden Sends Low-Powered Delegation To Nigeria

The United States President, Joe Biden, has approved the deployment of diplomats to grace the swearing-in of President-elect Bola Tinubu on May 29.

This was disclosed in a statement published on the White House website.

“President Biden announces presidential delegation to the Federal Republic of Nigeria to attend the inauguration of His Excellency Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” the statement partly reads.

According to the statement, the Secretary of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development,
Honorable Marcia L. Fudge, will lead the delegation.

Other members of the US Presidential Delegation include, ” Mr. David Greene, Chargé d’Affaires, a.i., U.S. Embassy Abuja, The Honorable Sydney Kamlager-Dove, United States Representative (D), California, The Honorable Marisa Lago, Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade, U.S. Department of Commerce, General Michael E. Langley, Commander of U.S. Africa Command, The Honorable Enoh T. Ebong, Director, U.S. Trade and Development Agency, The Honorable Mary Catherine Phee, Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of African Affairs, U.S. Department of State, The Honorable Judd Devermont, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for African Affairs, National Security Council and The Honorable Monde Muyangwa, Assistant Administrator for the Bureau for Africa, U.S. Agency for International Development.”

The approval by Biden may not be welcomed by opposition politicians in Nigeria who believe the outcome of the polls was rigged.

They had urged Biden to decline congratulating Tinubu until the conclusion of court proceedings associated with the election.

The US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mary Beth Leonard had on March 2 stated that the 2023 elections in Nigeria did not meet up with expectations particularly with the deployment of technology.

But the delegation approval of the inauguration by the White House signals the support of the US government.