US: Tinubu, Atiku’s Lobby Firms Clash Over Tinubu-Trump Meeting

The US Lobby firm hired by the former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Atiku Abubakar, says it has frustrated alleged attempt by President Bola Tinubu’s government to secure political support from President Donald Trump ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 presidential election.
The Washington-based Von Batten-Montague-York, L.C., VBMY, alleged Tuesday that a proposed meeting between Tinubu and Trump on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York had been foiled and now “dead,” adding that efforts to enlist Washington’s support for the Nigerian president had failed.
The claims have not been independently confirmed by the White House, and there is no public confirmation that a Trump-Tinubu bilateral meeting was formally scheduled, even as earlier reports of the firm’s assertion had not provided documentation or named Trump administration officials to substantiate the claim.
Meanwhile, the  VBMY’s latest intervention takes on added political significance as the company is an interested observer in the escalating Washington battle between Tinubu and his Nigerian political opponents.
The firm is working for Atiku, who is one of Tinubu’s leading political rivals ahead of the 2027 election.
Documents filed under the U.S. Foreign Agents Registration Act show that Atiku retained VBMY under a 12-month, $1.2 million agreement signed in March 2026 to provide strategic advice, engage with Congress and the executive branch, reputation management as well as “counterbalance” Nigerian government narratives in Washington.

‘The Meeting Is Dead’

The VBMY claimed in its Tuesday statement, that Tinubu’s advisers and supporters were angry with the firm over its activities in Washington.
“We understand their frustration, and we would like to play the world’s smallest violin for their sorrows,” it stated, pointing out that  the proposed Trump-Tinubu meeting at the UN was “dead,” just  as attempts to secure Trump’s backing for Tinubu had failed.
It also claimed that a proposed White House meeting would not materialise and noting that the Nigerian government’s wider efforts to cultivate American political support for Tinubu’s 2027 ambitions had suffered a setback.
“We are just a lobbying firm. You are the Federal Government of Nigeria,” it added 

Abuja $9;million Washington Contract 

The Federal Government also, retained the Republican-linked DCI Group under a contract valued at $9 million as shown by filings showing that the engagement was primarily designed to communicate Nigeria’s efforts to protect Christian communities and maintain U.S. support for counterterrorism operations — rather than explicitly to secure Trump’s endorsement of Tinubu’s re-election.
VBMY has sought to portray that lobbying effort as part of the wider political battle for influence in Washington.

Presidency Fires Back

President Tinubu's  Special Adviser on Media and Public Communications, Sunday Dare, described VBMY’s activities as politically motivated and accused the company of presenting speculation as though it represented information from the U.S. government.
Dare further noted that the firm’s statements represented the views of the Atiku-linked commercial lobbyist and not those of Trump or his administration.
The Presidency also challenged the firm to produce evidence supporting some of its claims and questioned suggestions that its founder, Karl Von Batten, had privileged access to Trump administration officials.