The camp of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has dismissed the Presidency’s criticism of US-based lobbyist Karl Von Batten, saying the government is diverting attention from the key issues.
Phrank Shaibu, Atiku’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, said the focus should be on documents and court records in the United States rather than the personal background of the lobbyist.
Shaibu’s comments followed remarks by President Bola Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Media and Public Communications, Sunday Dare, who questioned Atiku’s relationship with Von Batten.
According to Shaibu, one of the issues requiring attention is a US civil forfeiture case involving $460,000 in an account bearing Tinubu’s name. He stressed that the case should not be described as a criminal conviction but argued that the absence of a conviction does not invalidate the existence of the court records.
He also defended Atiku’s reported $1.2 million lobbying arrangement in the US, saying the agreement with Von Batten-Montague-York was registered with the US Department of Justice under the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
Shaibu further questioned the Federal Government’s spending on lobbying in Washington, alleging that the Tinubu administration engaged DCI Group for $750,000 monthly, amounting to $4.5 million over six months, with provisions that could reportedly raise the total to about $9 million.
He accused the Presidency of applying different standards to lobbying activities involving Atiku and the Federal Government.
Shaibu urged the government to address issues affecting Nigerians, including rising food, transport and electricity costs, declining purchasing power and insecurity, instead of focusing on political exchanges.
Atiku’s camp challenged the Presidency to explain its own lobbying expenditure in the US before criticising the opposition for engaging lobbyists.
