‘My Email, Social Media Flooded With ‘Hogwash’ on Tinubu’ — Fani-Kayode Attacks US Firm Working for Atiku

Former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, has criticised a United States-based lobbying firm working for former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar over its recent campaign concerning President Bola Tinubu.

Fani-Kayode, who is also Nigeria’s ambassador-designate to South Africa, said his email and social media accounts had been inundated with what he described as “hogwash” relating to the President.

His comments followed renewed activities by Von Batten-Montague-York, a US-based policy advisory and lobbying firm reportedly engaged by Atiku to pursue the release of US records relating to allegations surrounding Tinubu’s past.

The firm has made a series of claims concerning the President, including allegations relating to his 1993 drug-forfeiture case in the United States. It has also questioned the authenticity of a document purportedly issued by the American Consulate in Lagos in 2003 concerning Tinubu’s records.

Tinubu has previously denied allegations of involvement in drug trafficking, while records from the 1990s show that he forfeited about $460,000 to US authorities in connection with a civil case involving accounts that the government alleged were linked to proceeds of heroin trafficking. The allegations have remained politically contentious for years.

The controversy intensified after the lobbying firm alleged that its founder, Karl Von Batten, was offered $3m and invited to a confidential meeting in London to abandon its campaign concerning the President. The firm said it rejected the alleged offer and preserved communications relating to it.

The claim has not been independently established, and the Presidency has challenged the lobbying firm to provide evidence supporting its allegations.

Fani-Kayode condemned the continued focus on Tinubu’s past, arguing that the allegations being circulated were politically motivated and intended to damage the President ahead of the 2027 general election.

The former minister’s intervention adds to an increasingly heated political dispute involving the Tinubu administration, Atiku and individuals or organisations campaigning around the President’s historical records in the United States.

Atiku has defended his engagement with the US lobbying firm, maintaining that the effort is aimed at obtaining information that he believes should be made public.

The dispute is expected to remain part of the wider political contest as opposition figures intensify scrutiny of Tinubu ahead of the 2027 presidential election.