A fresh disagreement has emerged between former Kaduna Central senator Shehu Sani and Paul Ibe, media adviser to former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, over the opposition’s decision to engage a United States lobbying firm to seek the release of records linked to President Bola Tinubu’s alleged drug trafficking case.
The dispute followed reports that Von Batten-Montague-York, L.C., a Washington-based lobbying firm retained by Atiku, had circulated 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 on Wednesday via his X account, Shehu Sani criticised the move, describing the engagement of foreign lobbyists against a sitting Nigerian president as unpatriotic and potentially harmful to the country’s international reputation.
Sani argued that involving foreign institutions in Nigeria’s domestic political disputes could undermine the country’s image abroad and expose its citizens to possible diplomatic consequences.
“Engaging US lobby groups to criminalise the President and his administration and curry favour from the US Government is unconscionable and unpatriotic,” he wrote.
According to the former lawmaker, such actions could expose Nigeria to diplomatic consequences without achieving their intended objective.
“It may not achieve its objectives but will undoubtedly damage the international reputation of the country, escalate global repudiation against our citizens and lead us into the traps of sanctions and visa restrictions,” Sani said.
He added that opposition parties should pursue power through democratic means within Nigeria rather than seeking foreign intervention.
“The opposition should fight and struggle for power within the borders of our country. Seeking foreign help for regime change in a democratic setting is wrong,” he stated.
Responding shortly afterwards, Ibe defended the decision to retain a lobbying firm, arguing that there was nothing improper about the move.
“There’s nothing wrong with hiring a lobbyist, especially when you are confronted with a dictatorship,” he wrote.
Ibe also alleged that the Tinubu administration had previously spent public funds on lobbying in the United States.
“Recall that six months ago, Tinubu splurged $9 million of Nigeria’s hard-earned money on a US lobby firm,” he said.
The Atiku aide argued that the real issue was Tinubu’s past forfeiture of $460,000 to US authorities over alleged drug trafficking, insisting Nigerians had a right to know the contents of the FBI and DOJ records.
“Do Nigerians deserve to know what is in the FBI and DOJ files about Tinubu? Yes. Nigerians are entitled to know everything about their President or a prospective President,” Ibe said.
He further challenged Tinubu’s supporters to allow the release of the records if they had “nothing to hide.”
Ibe also ended his response with a personal remark directed at Sani, referencing what he described as “unfinished business” dating back to Sani’s chairmanship of a Senate ad hoc committee that investigated former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal.
“I will encourage you to honour your outstanding commitment to me. I don’t want it to be a subject of public discussion,” he wrote.
