President Bola Tinubu has remained calm and focused regardless of recent threats by United States President Donald Trump over Nigeria’s security situation, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has said.
Idris stated this while briefing journalists on Tuesday after meeting with the President at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
According to the minister, President Tinubu is handling the matter with "utmost composure and responsibility," adding that his administration is determined to make Nigeria safer for all citizens regardless of ethnicity or religion.
"Mr President is calm. He is looking at the whole situation; he is looking at the ways and means of ensuring that the international community understands what we have been doing," Idris said.
The Minister noted that the recent appointments in the military hierarchy reflected Tinubu’s ongoing reforms to strengthen the country’s security architecture.
"Only a week or two ago, Mr President, in his desire to rekindle the security architecture of the country, appointed a new Chief of Defence Staff and other service chiefs.
"This shows that the President has been working assiduously to ensure Nigeria remains a safe country for all its citizens," he said.
Idris disclosed that the government had opened new channels of communication with international partners to clarify Nigeria’s security efforts and address any misconceptions.
"We don’t want to overheat the discussions. But work is ongoing, and we have also opened communication channels so that the international community will understand what Nigeria has been doing better," he said.
On domestic religious tensions, Idris said the government was engaging religious leaders to foster peace and unity, dismissing claims that the administration was backing attacks against any faith group.
"It’s a multiple approach. Discussions with the leadership of religious groups are ongoing. Mr President has been meeting with them and will continue to do so.
"For us to be characterised as a country that is not tolerant when it comes to religion is absolutely false. Our constitution guarantees that everyone should practise their faith freely, and Mr President is going to uphold that," the Minister said.
He warned against divisive narratives being spread by extremists, calling on Nigerians to unite against elements seeking to destabilise the country.
"This is not the time for division or politics. It’s a time for nation-building. We believe that we will come out of this even stronger," Idris added.
His comments follow a series of posts by President Trump on his Truth Social platform over the weekend, in which he claimed that Christianity was "facing an existential threat" in Nigeria.
Trump said he had instructed the Pentagon to draw up a possible plan of attack against Nigeria if the alleged killings of Christians continued, warning that such an operation "will be fast, vicious, and sweet."
Speaking later aboard Air Force One, Trump doubled down on the threat, hinting at possible troop deployment or air strikes, saying, "could be, I envisage a lot of things."
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