‘Explain $460,000 forfeiture record before attacking Von Batten’
Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Phrank Shaibu, has challenged the Presidency to explain its alleged multimillion-dollar lobbying arrangement in the United States instead of dwelling on the background of Washington-based lobbyist Karl Von Batten.
Shaibu, in a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday and titled “Tinubu, Sunday Dare and the Villa Jesters,” accused the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communications, Sunday Dare, and the presidential media team of attempting to divert attention from what he described as documented records involving President Bola Tinubu.
He was reacting to Dare’s recent comments on Atiku’s engagement of Von Batten-Montague-York, saying questions about the lobbyist’s ancestry, marriage and business dealings did not answer issues arising from publicly available United States records.
Shaibu said Atiku’s $1.2 million engagement with Von Batten-Montague-York was voluntarily registered under the United States Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), adding that the filing disclosed the nature, duration and compensation of the agreement.
He challenged the Presidency to also explain what he described as historical US federal records relating to Tinubu and a narcotics and money-laundering investigation, as well as a US District Court decree involving the forfeiture of $460,000 held in an account bearing Tinubu’s name.
The former vice president’s aide, however, acknowledged that civil forfeiture should not be interpreted as a criminal conviction, but maintained that the existence of a court record should be addressed with documentary evidence rather than political attacks.
Shaibu also accused the Federal Government of hypocrisy over its criticism of Atiku’s lobbying expenditure, alleging that the administration had entered into a Washington lobbying arrangement with DCI Group valued at $750,000 monthly.
According to him, the alleged arrangement was initially worth $4.5 million for six months, with provisions capable of taking the total value to $9 million.
He questioned why Atiku’s reported $1.2 million lobbying engagement should be portrayed as desperation while a significantly larger government arrangement was described as diplomacy.
Shaibu argued that both the Federal Government and political actors were entitled to engage lobbyists in Washington, stressing that the US capital was not the exclusive preserve of the Nigerian Presidency.
He further urged the administration to focus more attention on domestic challenges confronting Nigerians, including rising food and transportation costs, electricity tariffs, declining purchasing power and insecurity.
“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,” he said.
Shaibu also challenged Dare’s call for the 2027 election debate to focus on domestic performance, saying such a debate must include the state of the economy and the living conditions of Nigerians.
He maintained that the controversy over lobbying should be resolved through examination of documentary records rather than attacks on individuals raising questions about them.
“Before counting Atiku’s $1.2 million, account for your own $9 million arrangement. And before abusing the messenger, answer the $460,000 question,” Shaibu said.
He concluded by contrasting the economic record of the Tinubu administration with Atiku’s campaign promise, declaring: “Tinubu made Nigeria expensive. Atiku will make Nigeria affordable again.”
