Atiku's Aide Challenges Tinubu Over $9 Million Lobbying

Phrank Shaibu, the Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, responded to Sunday Dare, the spokesperson for President Bola Tinubu, regarding an alleged $9 million lobbying deal. Shaibu accused Dare of evading serious questions about Tinubu's record by attacking the credibility of Atiku's lobbyist, Karl Von Batten.

He stated that the Tinubu administration's lobbying arrangement with the DCI Group in Washington, valued at $750,000 per month, totals $4.5 million for the first six months and could reach $9 million. In contrast, Atiku's engagement with Von Batten-Montague-York was worth $1.2 million for a year and was voluntarily filed under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).

Shaibu argued that publicly registered lobbying should not be a scandal and criticized the Tinubu administration's moral stance on financial propriety. He also referenced US court documents related to a $460,000 forfeiture connected to Tinubu, urging Dare to address pressing economic issues facing Nigerians.