Retired American mental health counsellor, Jeffrey Guterman, has said the lobbying effort initiated by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar over President Bola Tinubu’s alleged past US forfeiture case will not prevent the President from winning the 2027 general election.
Guterman made the remark in a post on his X handle on Thursday while reacting to reports that Washington-based lobbying firm, Von Batten-Montague-York, L.C., engaged by Atiku, had begun sharing documents relating to alleged Tinubu’s long-running US forfeiture case with officials in the administration of President Donald Trump, members of Congress and congressional staff.
According to the firm, it is distributing records from the US Department of Justice concerning allegations linked to a 1993 civil forfeiture proceeding involving funds connected to Tinubu.
DAILY POST reports that Atiku reportedly hired the lobbying firm in March under a 12-month contract valued at $1.2 million to undertake advocacy, diplomatic outreach and present his perspectives on issues concerning Nigeria-US relations.
Reacting, Guterman argued that the lobbying effort would have little impact on the outcome of Nigeria’s next presidential election.
He wrote: “Let’s be honest with ourselves. The U.S. lobbying effort to reveal Nigeria President Tinubu’s drug trafficking will do nothing. He will probably win in 2027 due to propaganda news on Tinubu.
“I affirm that Tinubu will win in 2027 unless on election day rigging and violence, like there was in 2023, is stopped.”
Earlier, Paul Ibe, an aide to Atiku, claimed that President Trump had been made aware of court documents relating to Tinubu’s past legal records in the United States.
In a post on X, Ibe alleged that Tinubu’s 60-page US Department of Justice files on alleged heroin trafficking and the forfeiture of $460,000 had been brought to Trump’s attention through the lobbying firm, Batten Von.
He maintained that Nigerians deserved to know the full details of the matter.
However, former lawmaker, Shehu Sani, criticised Atiku’s decision to engage a US lobbying firm to circulate documents relating to Tinubu’s past forfeiture case.
Sani described the move as unconscionable and unpatriotic.
He warned that involving foreign lobby groups against Nigeria’s President could damage the country’s international reputation, deepen global distrust of Nigerians and expose the country to sanctions or visa restrictions.
He also argued that the opposition should pursue political change through democratic processes within Nigeria rather than seeking foreign intervention.
