The opposition’s decision to hire a United States lobbying firm to pursue the release of records linked to President Bola Tinubu’s alleged drug trafficking case has sparked a public war of words between former Kaduna Central Senator Shehu Sani and Paul Ibe, media adviser to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
The disagreement followed reports that Von Batten-Montague-York, L.C., a Washington-based lobbying firm retained by Atiku, had begun circulating United States Department of Justice documents relating to Tinubu’s alleged drug trafficking case to officials in the Donald Trump administration, members of Congress and senior congressional aides. Reacting through his X account on Wednesday, Shehu Sani condemned the move, arguing that involving foreign lobbyists in Nigeria’s domestic political disputes was both unpatriotic and harmful to the country’s global image.
According to the former lawmaker, seeking foreign influence against a sitting Nigerian president could damage Nigeria’s international reputation without necessarily achieving the opposition’s political objectives. He warned that such actions could expose the country to diplomatic consequences, including possible sanctions and stricter visa policies affecting ordinary Nigerians.
Sani maintained that political parties should pursue electoral victory through democratic processes within Nigeria rather than relying on foreign intervention. In a swift response, Paul Ibe defended the engagement of the American lobbying firm, insisting that there was nothing unlawful or unethical about employing lobbyists, particularly when confronting what he described as an authoritarian government.
He further alleged that the Tinubu administration had previously spent about $9 million of public funds on lobbying efforts in the United States, arguing that the opposition’s action was therefore not unprecedented. Ibe said the central issue was not the hiring of lobbyists but whether Nigerians deserved access to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Department of Justice (DOJ) records concerning Tinubu.
He insisted that citizens have the right to know every relevant detail about anyone occupying or seeking the nation’s highest office, including past legal controversies. The Atiku aide also challenged supporters of President Tinubu to support the release of the records if, in his words, there was “nothing to hide.”
Beyond the policy disagreement, Ibe concluded his response with a personal message directed at Shehu Sani, reminding the former senator of what he described as an unresolved matter dating back to Sani’s leadership of the Senate ad hoc committee that investigated former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal.
The exchange has added another dimension to the growing political controversy surrounding the opposition’s international lobbying campaign, with supporters and critics divided over whether the strategy promotes accountability or undermines Nigeria’s image abroad.
