APC Chieftain Links Trump’s Watch List Tag to Nigeria’s Rejection of US ‘Strange Proposal’

An All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain, Ayekooto Akindele, has alleged that the United States President Donald Trump’s decision to designate Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern (CPC)” was a direct consequence of the Nigerian government’s refusal to accept a “strange proposal” from the US.

Dependable NG reports that President Trump formally tagged Nigeria CPC on Friday, placing the country on a watch list over claims of widespread Christian massacres being carried out by radical groups. This move followed advocacy from US lawmakers and religious freedom fighters who have cited high numbers of Christians being killed by Islamic extremists in the country. The Nigerian presidency, however, had previously rejected such claims, asserting that the country’s security crisis is not rooted in religious inclination.

Reacting to the development via a post on his official X account on Saturday, Ayekooto directly attributed the US decision to two key points. First, he cited the Nigerian government’s rejection of a proposal to accept illegal immigrants deported from the US. Secondly, he alleged that Nigeria’s move “to pursue economic liberties with every global economic organisation” triggered the response from the US government.

The APC chieftain then publicly challenged the US President, writing, “Donald Trump, Nigeria is not a country to mess with. We are multi-religious and multi-cultural. A country where the President is a Muslim and his wife is a Pastor should tell you more about our lives here.” He further confronted the motive behind the CPC designation, stating, “And you know we are a country of particular concern, yet you attempted to deport illegal immigrants of other nations to this country but because we rejected the strange proposal, and also decided to pursue economic liberties with every global economic organisation, we suddenly became your country of concern!” The government of Nigeria had officially rejected the CPC tag just hours before Akindele’s assertion, maintaining that Trump’s claims do not reflect the situation on the ground.