Presidency rejects US lobbyist reports as politically motivated

Nigeria’s presidency has dismissed reports circulated by a US lobbying firm over historical records concerning President Bola Tinubu, calling the campaign political propaganda aimed at creating a crisis before the 2027 elections.

Sunday Dare, the president’s special adviser on media and public communications, said the Washington-based firm Von Batten-Montague-York, L.C. was presenting political claims as intelligence assessments. He accused the firm of trying to suggest that its statements reflected the position of the US government.

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The incendiary press releases being carefully churned out from Washington are public relations propaganda sheets passed off as the view of the U.S. Government. They are not.

Dare said publicly available filings under the US Foreign Agents Registration Act showed that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar had retained the firm on a 12-month contract reportedly worth $1.2 million. He argued that Atiku’s political camp was using historical US legal records to gain leverage before the next general election.

“The incendiary press releases being carefully churned out from Washington are public relations propaganda sheets passed off as the view of the U.S. Government. They are not,” Dare said.

He challenged those behind the allegations to produce the supposedly classified intelligence report, identify their unnamed sources and provide evidence of any exchange involving Nigeria’s secrets or resources. Dare also questioned the role of the firm’s founder, Karl Von Batten, saying he was a commercial lobbyist rather than a US government official.

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Sane minds must categorically dismiss these reports as fabricated, politically motivated, and entirely unsupported by evidence.

“Dr. Karl Von Batten’s comments represent solely the position of an individual associated with Atiku-linked political interests, not the U.S. government or President Trump,” Dare said.

The controversy involves historical records held by US federal agencies concerning Tinubu and a 1990s civil forfeiture case in which funds were forfeited to US authorities. The records are also involved in ongoing Freedom of Information Act litigation in the United States.

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Dr. Karl Von Batten’s comments represent solely the position of an individual associated with Atiku-linked political interests, not the U.S. government or President Trump.