The Presidency has reacted to reports that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s lobbyists have taken President Bola Tinubu’s drug-related forfeiture of $460,000 to the US President and members of Congress.
A Washington-based lobbying firm, VON Batten-Montague-York, L.C, announced on Tuesday that it has begun sharing documents relating to a long-running United States forfeiture case involving President Bola Tinubu with officials of the Donald Trump administration, members of Congress and congressional staff.
Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar hired Von Batten-Montague-York in March under a 12-month, $1.2 million lobbying contract to help strengthen his reputational standing in the US, facilitate engagements with US officials and congress, and counter what the contract describes as the Nigerian government’s lobbying narratives.
Reacting to the report on Thursday in a statement signed by Special Adviser Information and Strategy to the President, Bayo Onanuga, the Presidency said Atiku’s desire to become President of Nigeria has closed his eyes to the virtues of statesmanship, decorum, and propriety expected of an elder statesman.
The statement reads:
“Instead of embracing the dignity and maturity that come with his standing, he continues to diminish himself through reckless public statements and desperate political manoeuvres.
“It is baffling and disappointing that someone who has sought the presidency for over three decades now resorts to reporting the President of Nigeria to US President Donald Trump and members of the US Congress.
“In his latest act, Atiku Abubakar’s lobbying group in the US has submitted petitions to President Trump and the US State Department regarding a civil forfeiture case from 1993—a matter long settled, with no criminal conviction or finding of guilt.
“This issue was resolved over 30 years ago in the United States and has been thoroughly litigated, explained, and rendered moot by the electoral mandates conferred on President Bola Tinubu by the people of Lagos and Nigeria at large. “Reviving this matter today is an affront to the intelligence of Nigerians and an attempt to rewrite history for personal gain.
“It is important to remind Atiku and his associates that Nigeria is a sovereign nation, not a satellite of any foreign power.
“Reporting the President of Nigeria to another country’s leader is not only inappropriate but also undermines the nation’s dignity and independence.
“Such actions are incongruous with the responsibilities of a statesman and are ultimately self-defeating.
“If Atiku has chosen to disregard his own sense of self-respect and self-worth, he should, at the very least, show respect for the country he aspires to lead and the office he so ardently seeks.”
The Presidency acknowledged that lobbying is a legitimate part of American politics, but insisted that “employing paid foreign agents to peddle discredited documents against a sitting Nigerian President is not advocacy—it is an attempt to externalise domestic politics and undermine Nigeria’s sovereignty.
“Nigerians resolved this matter at the ballot in February 2023 and in the Supreme Court. That verdict stands, and Atiku’s latest fishing expedition would amount to nought.”
The Presidency noted that if Atiku Abubakar could spend $1.2 million on American lobbyists to report President Tinubu, he should also clarify his own legal standing in the United States.
“He featured most prominently in the William Jefferson bribery scandal, a matter which saw the American congressman jailed.
“Atiku, along with his former wife Jennifer Douglas, was one of the subjects of an elaborate US Senate Investigation, ‘Keeping Foreign Corruption Out of the United States: Four Case Histories.’
“The report of the investigation, chaired by Senator Carl Levin, was released in February 2010.
“It documented how Atiku used offshore companies to bring suspect funds, including bribes from multinationals, running into millions of dollars, into the United States.
“Atiku’s obsession with the presidency is driven not just by his marabout-fuelled ambition, but by a desire for diplomatic immunity and to evade potential legal issues abroad.
“Recycling discredited allegations and documents from the 2023 campaign will not improve his chances in 2027.
“Nigerians have not forgotten the legacy of the privatisation programme under Atiku’s watch as vice president.
“He presided over an egregious privatisation heist, selling national assets to cronies for peanuts and causing thousands of job losses and unpaid salaries and pensions that President Tinubu is clearing today.
“A man with such a dismal record as a public servant certainly has no business asking for our votes.
“Indeed, if Atiku Abubakar were a Chinese, he would be rotting away in jail for his crimes against the Nigerian people.
“Rather than present policy alternatives to address the country’s challenges, the former Vice President has chosen the path of media theatrics and lobbying in Washington.
“The challenges Nigeria faces require serious engagement, thoughtful solutions, and leadership at home—not grandstanding abroad.”
According to the Presidency in the statement, President Tinubu is unfazed by Atiku’s theatrics as he remains focused on his Renewed Hope Agenda, stabilising the economy, attracting investments, securing the nation, and restoring Nigeria’s standing in the world.
“He is not distracted by political actors, perennial losers like Atiku, who now seek validation abroad,” the Presidency said.
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