Atiku Challenges Tinubu to Explain $460,000 US Forfeiture, Defends $1.2m Lobbying Deal

Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has challenged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to explain the circumstances surrounding the forfeiture of $460,000 in the United States rather than attacking the lobbying firm he engaged to represent his interests in Washington.

Atiku’s position was contained in a statement issued on Wednesday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, in response to comments by Sunday Dare, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communications.

Dare had criticised Atiku’s engagement of the US lobbying firm Von Batten-Montague-York, warning against claims that the firm’s managing partner, Karl Von Batten, had access to US President Donald Trump or members of his administration or could influence ongoing court proceedings.

Shaibu, however, accused the Presidency of diverting attention from what he described as substantive issues contained in US judicial records by focusing on Atiku’s choice of lobbyist.

Atiku reportedly engaged the firm in March for $1.2 million to protect and strengthen his reputation in the United States. A document filed with the US Department of Justice under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) stated that the engagement included efforts to counterbalance the Nigerian government’s lobbying narratives in the US.

The lobbying firm also stated in July that it had begun providing members of the Trump administration, Congress and senior congressional staff with US Department of Justice records relating to allegations concerning Tinubu.

Shaibu maintained that Atiku’s engagement of the firm was publicly registered with the US Department of Justice and therefore could not reasonably be portrayed as a clandestine attempt to influence the US administration.

He instead challenged Tinubu to address records in the US concerning his name and the $460,000 forfeiture.

“These are not documents written by Atiku Abubakar. They were not manufactured by Karl Von Batten. They form part of an American judicial record,” Shaibu said.

He acknowledged that civil forfeiture does not amount to a criminal conviction but argued that the existence of the court record remained a legitimate subject of public scrutiny.

Shaibu also accused the Tinubu administration of double standards in its criticism of Atiku’s lobbying arrangement.

He alleged that the Federal Government had engaged DCI Group in an arrangement worth $750,000 monthly, which he said amounted to $4.5 million for the first six months and could reach $9 million.

The Atiku camp argued that both politicians were entitled to engage lobbyists and questioned why the ADC presidential candidate’s arrangement was being portrayed as evidence of desperation.

Shaibu said the focus of the political debate should instead be on the economic and security challenges confronting Nigerians, including rising food and transportation costs, electricity bills, insecurity and declining purchasing power.

“President Tinubu, before counting Atiku’s $1.2 million, account for your own $9 million arrangement. And before attacking the messenger, answer the $460,000 question,” he said.

The exchange adds another dimension to the increasingly contentious political contest ahead of the 2027 presidential election, with the two camps trading allegations over their respective international engagements and records.