Atiku’s camp flays Shehu Sani over reaction to US lobbying against Tinubu

In a swift reaction, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s media team, led by Paul Ibe, has knocked former Senator Shehu Sani for labeling opposition efforts to expose President Bola Tinubu’s past forfeiture case in the United States via lobbyists as “unpatriotic”.

The controversy stemmed from reports that Von Batten-Montague-York, L.C., a Washington-based lobbying firm engaged by Abubakar, had begun distributing United States Department of Justice records on alleged drug trafficking involving Tinubu to officials in the Donald Trump administration, members of Congress and senior congressional aides.

Reacting on his X account on Wednesday, Sani criticised the move, describing it as unpatriotic and capable of damaging Nigeria’s international standing.

“Engaging US lobby groups to criminalise the President and his administration and curry favour from the US Government is unconscionable and unpatriotic,” he wrote.

According to the former lawmaker, such actions could expose Nigeria to diplomatic consequences without achieving their intended objective.

“It may not achieve its objectives but will undoubtedly damage the international reputation of the country, escalate global repudiation against our citizens and lead us into the traps of sanctions and visa restrictions,” Sani said.

He added that opposition parties should pursue power through democratic means within Nigeria rather than seeking foreign intervention.

“The opposition should fight and struggle for power within the borders of our country. Seeking foreign help for regime change in a democratic setting is wrong,” he stated.

Responding shortly afterwards, Ibe defended the decision to retain a lobbying firm, arguing that there was nothing improper about the move.

“There’s nothing wrong with hiring a lobbyist, especially when you are confronted with a dictatorship,” he wrote.

Ibe also alleged that the Tinubu administration had previously spent public funds on lobbying in the United States.

“Recall that six months ago, Tinubu splurged $9 million of Nigeria’s hard-earned money on a US lobby firm,” he said.

The Atiku aide argued that the real issue was Tinubu’s past forfeiture of $460,000 to US authorities over alleged drug trafficking, insisting Nigerians had a right to know the contents of the FBI and DOJ records.

“Do Nigerians deserve to know what is in the FBI and DOJ files about Tinubu? Yes. Nigerians are entitled to know everything about their President or a prospective President,” Ibe said.

He further challenged Tinubu’s supporters to allow the release of the records if they had “nothing to hide.”

Ibe also ended his response with a personal remark directed at Sani, referencing what he described as “unfinished business” dating back to Sani’s chairmanship of a Senate ad hoc committee that investigated former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal.

“I will encourage you to honour your outstanding commitment to me. I don’t want it to be a subject of public discussion,” he wrote.

𝕤𝕖𝕖 𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕖/𝕨𝕒𝕥𝕔𝕙 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕧𝕚𝕕𝕖𝕠 𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖