Atiku challenges Tinubu to explain $460,000 US forfeiture
Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Atiku Abubakar, has challenged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to explain records surrounding a $460,000 forfeiture in the United States instead of attacking the lobbyist he hired 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 the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Public Communications, Sunday Dare. Dare had criticised Atiku’s engagement of the US lobbying firm Von Batten-Montague-York and cautioned against claims that its managing partner, Karl Von Batten, had access to President Donald Trump or his administration or could influence ongoing court proceedings. Shaibu, however, accused the Presidency of avoiding the substantive issues raised by American judicial records by focusing on Atiku’s lobbyist. He said Atiku hired 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 stated that one objective was to counterbalance the Nigerian government’s lobbying narratives in the US. The firm also said in July that it had begun providing members of the Trump administration, Congress and senior congressional staff with Justice Department records concerning drug trafficking allegations involving Tinubu. Shaibu said Atiku’s engagement was publicly registered and therefore could not be described as a secret attempt to influence Washington.
Shaibu challenged Tinubu to explain why his name appeared in historical US federal narcotics and money-laundering records and why a US District Court entered a decree forfeiting $460,000 held in an account in his name. He stressed that civil forfeiture was not a criminal conviction but said the existence of the court record could not be dismissed through political attacks. Shaibu also accused the Tinubu administration of hypocrisy over its criticism of Atiku’s lobbying arrangement, alleging that the government had entered into a $750,000-per-month arrangement with DCI Group, amounting to $4.5 million for the first six months, with provisions that could extend the engagement to $9 million. He argued that both Tinubu and Atiku were entitled to engage lobbyists and questioned why Atiku’s decision was being portrayed as desperation. Shaibu said the debate should instead focus on challenges facing Nigerians, including rising food and transportation costs, electricity bills, insecurity and declining purchasing power. He challenged Tinubu to account for the alleged multimillion-dollar lobbying arrangement before criticising Atiku’s $1.2 million engagement, saying the President should answer questions surrounding the $460,000 forfeiture rather than attack the messenger.
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