Paul Ibe, media adviser to African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar, has defended the reported engagement of a U.S. lobbying firm after former Senator Shehu Sani described the move as “unconscionable and unpatriotic.”
Responding in a post on X, Ibe argued there was nothing wrong with hiring lobbyists, particularly under what he described as a “dictatorship.” He also alleged that President Bola Tinubu’s administration spent $9 million on a U.S. lobbying firm six months ago.
Ibe further claimed that questions surrounding Tinubu’s past U.S. legal issues were more damaging to Nigeria’s image than any lobbying effort. He referenced the President’s previous forfeiture of $460,000 to U.S. authorities and argued that Nigerians were entitled to access FBI and U.S. Department of Justice records relating to the matter.
He maintained that those opposing efforts to obtain the “#TinubuUSFiles” should have no reason to object if there was nothing to hide.
Ibe also took a personal swipe at Shehu Sani, referring to an alleged unresolved matter dating back to Sani’s tenure as chairman of the Senate Ad-Hoc Committee on the Humanitarian Crisis in the North-East, and urged the former lawmaker to honour what he described as an outstanding commitment.
