ABUJA, NIGERIA — The Presidency has launched a sharp criticism against former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, accusing him of spending $1.2 million on a Washington D.C. lobbying firm to execute a PR campaign aimed at seeking foreign validation ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
In an official statement released on Tuesday, September 1, 2026, titled “Speculation as Classified Information: Atiku’s $1.2 million Lobbying Gamble Exposed,” Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communications, Dr. Sunday Dare, alleged that Atiku’s camp is packaging commercial public relations releases as sensitive U.S. intelligence reports to create political friction.
Core Allegations Raised by the Presidency
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FARA Filing Disclosures: Publicly available records filed under the United States Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) show that Atiku contracted Washington-based firm Von Batten-Montague-York, L.C. on a 12-month, $1.2 million retainer.
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“Paid PR, Not U.S. Intelligence”: Sunday Dare characterized recent Washington media statements regarding President Bola Tinubu’s historical U.S. records as “political speculation packaged as classified information,” insisting that no Western intelligence agency or official source is linked to the reports.
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Addressing the Lobbyist: The Presidency singled out the firm’s founder, Dr. Karl-Marx Edward Okeke-Von Batten, describing him as a commercial lobbyist with no official standing in the U.S. government or capacity to influence ongoing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) proceedings.
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FOIA Clarification: Dare reiterated that the long-standing FOIA litigation regarding 1990s U.S. archival records has been active since 2023, noting that the FBI’s primary concern in withholding portions is strictly to protect sensitive investigative techniques and sources, not to offer special protection to any individual.
“Strip away the hyperbolic prose and what remains is a paid public relations exercise passed off as classified intelligence… True democratic validation is earned through the ballot box and tangible service delivery to citizens at home, not through manufactured headlines bought and paid for in foreign currency.”
— Dr. Sunday Dare, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communications
