Tinubu, Atiku’s aides bicker over millions of dollars spent to engage US lobbyists

A fresh war of words has erupted between the media aides of President Bola Tinubu and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar over the millions of dollars reportedly spent by both camps to engage lobbyists in the United States.

The latest salvo came from Phrank Shaibu, a senior aide to Mr Atiku, who accused the Tinubu administration of hypocrisy for criticising the former vice president’s engagement of a US lobbyist while allegedly maintaining a multimillion-dollar lobbying arrangement in Washington.

Mr Shaibu’s statement on Wednesday was a direct response to a recent intervention by the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Sunday Dare, in which the presidential camp questioned the activities and background of US lobbyist Karl Von Batten-Montague-York, who was engaged by Mr Atiku.

The exchange has opened a new front in the growing political rivalry between the two camps ahead of the 2027 general election, with both sides trading accusations over money, political lobbying and the use of foreign influence.

Mr Shaibu dismissed Mr Dare’s intervention as an attempt to divert attention from questions surrounding US records involving President Tinubu.

“Sunday Dare’s latest epistle is not a rebuttal. It is a tantrum dressed in presidential grammar,” he said.

Rather than addressing the issues raised over Atiku’s engagement, Mr Shaibu accused the presidential camp of focusing on the personal background, marriage, ancestry and business history of Mr Von Batten.

“At this rate, perhaps their next press statement will tell Nigerians the colour of his socks and what he eats for breakfast,” he said.

The Atiku aide said the former vice president’s $1.2 million engagement with Von Batten-Montague-York had been voluntarily registered with the United States Department of Justice under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).

He said the filing disclosed the nature, duration and compensation of the engagement, arguing that the transaction was therefore not a secret arrangement.

“You cannot expose what was publicly disclosed,” Mr Shaibu said.

But the controversy escalated as he challenged the Tinubu administration to account for its own alleged spending on Washington lobbying.

According to him, the Federal Government entered into a lobbying arrangement with DCI Group worth $750,000 monthly, amounting to $4.5 million for the first six months, with contractual provisions capable of taking the engagement to $9 million.

He said the arrangement was conducted through Aster Legal in connection with a senior federal security institution.

Mr Shaibu accused the Presidency of applying different standards to the two arrangements.

“Tinubu spends millions lobbying Washington: diplomacy.

“Atiku spends $1.2 million lobbying Washington: desperation.

“What magnificent hypocrisy,” he said.

The former vice president’s aide argued that there was nothing inherently wrong with either the government or opposition politicians engaging lobbyists in Washington.

“His principal is entitled to engage lobbyists, and Atiku is equally entitled to engage lobbyists. Washington does not belong to the Nigerian Presidency,” he said.

He said the alleged multimillion-dollar arrangement made it inappropriate for the Presidency to portray Atiku’s $1.2 million engagement as evidence of desperation.

The dispute also veered into allegations concerning President Tinubu’s past legal troubles in the United States.

Mr Shaibu challenged Mr Dare to explain what he described as historical US federal records linking Mr Tinubu’s name to a narcotics and money-laundering investigation.

He also referred to a US District Court decree involving the forfeiture of $460,000 held in an account in Mr Tinubu’s name.

“Why did a United States District Court enter a decree forfeiting $460,000 held in an account in Bola Tinubu’s name?” he asked.

Mr Shaibu, however, acknowledged that civil forfeiture was not the same as a criminal conviction.

“Let us also be precise: a civil forfeiture is not a criminal conviction. We have never said otherwise. But neither Sunday Dare nor his colleagues can abuse a court record out of existence,” he said.

The allegations are part of a long-running political dispute over Mr Tinubu’s history in the United States, which has repeatedly featured in Nigerian political campaigns and opposition attacks.

Turning his attention to the 2027 election debate, Mr Shaibu said Mr Dare was right that the contest should focus on domestic performance.

He, however, challenged the administration to allow Nigerians to assess its record on the economy, security and living standards.

“Let us discuss Tinubu’s domestic performance.

“Let us discuss food.

“Let us discuss transport.

“Let us discuss electricity.

“Let us discuss insecurity.

“Let us discuss the collapsing purchasing power of Nigerian families,” he said.

Mr Shaibu also questioned why an administration that, according to its supporters, was recording significant economic and policy achievements would require what he described as a multimillion-dollar lobbying operation in Washington to communicate those achievements to foreigners.

He accused the Presidency’s communication team of spending too much energy on attacking Mr Von Batten rather than addressing issues affecting Nigerians.

“Perhaps the Villa’s communication team should devote some of this remarkable energy to explaining something Nigerians actually care about: why food is expensive, why transportation is expensive, why electricity is expensive, why the naira buys less and why millions of families are struggling to survive,” he said.

“Nigerians cannot eat Sunday Dare’s press releases.

“They cannot fuel their cars with his insults.

“And they certainly cannot pay school fees with his investigation into Karl Von Batten’s family tree.”

Mr Shaibu said the opposition would remain focused on what he described as documentary records rather than personal attacks.

“Before counting Atiku’s $1.2 million, account for your own $9 million arrangement.

“And before abusing the messenger, answer the $460,000 question.

“The rest is noise,” he said.

The latest exchange adds to the increasingly combative rhetoric between supporters of Mr Tinubu and Mr Atiku as political parties and potential presidential contenders begin positioning themselves ahead of the 2027 election.

While the Tinubu camp has repeatedly defended the administration’s policies and performance, Atiku and his supporters have intensified criticism of the government over economic hardship, declining purchasing power and the cost of living.

Mr Atiku is expected to contest the 2027 presidential election under the African Democratic Congress (ADC), while Mr Tinubu is seeking another term on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The dispute over US lobbying has therefore added an international dimension to an already heated domestic political contest, with both camps now using the spending and activities of their respective Washington-based representatives as ammunition in their political exchanges.