Atiku Never Signed It: An ADC Treasurer Quietly Committed $1.2M to a Washington War Chest — and what the DOJ Filing Reveals for 2027. KEHINDE ADEGOKE reports.
For the first time, the actual contract language buried inside the U.S. Department of Justice filing lays bare what Atiku Abubakar’s $1.2 million Washington engagement is really about — and it is not reputation management.
This contract constitutes a public and formal challenge to the Tinubu administration’s American lobbying strategy, indicating a move to rival the current government’s influence in Washington.
The Government Affairs and Strategic Advisory Agreement between former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Washington-based firm Von Batten-Montague-York, L.C. (VBMY), which was formally registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) on April 1, 2026, contains a Purpose and Strategic Objective clause that may not have been highlighted in public until now.
Objective Three of the contract states, in plain English:
“To counterbalance incumbent-government lobbying narratives through lawful engagement.”
This is not spin. This is not an interpretation. These are the sworn, DOJ-published words of a legally binding contract, filed under penalty of perjury, and now permanently on the public record of the United States Department of Justice.
WHAT THE CONTRACT ACTUALLY ORDERS
The four stated objectives of the engagement, as signed and filed, are:
One — advance Atiku’s policy vision to U.S. policymakers. Two — protect his reputation in Washington. Three — counter incumbent lobbying narratives lawfully. Four — create compliant institutional relationships in U.S. agencies and Congress.
The scope of work is sweeping. Under Section II, VBMY is contracted to provide continuous assessment of U.S. political and national security dynamics; congressional engagement including identification of priority Members of Congress and staff, preparation of briefing materials, scheduling of meetings and structured follow-up; executive branch outreach; narrative architecture and messaging including “development of U.S.-facing policy messaging” and “strategic sequencing of institutional outreach”; and full FARA compliance management.
Most significantly, the contract includes a provision that has received zero coverage: the engagement explicitly covers “preparatory strategic positioning for a potential meeting between His Excellency Atiku Abubakar and senior United States executive-branch leadership” — a direct reference to potential access to the Trump administration.
The total professional fee is One Million Two Hundred Thousand United States Dollars (US $1,200,000), payable across six instalments over 300 days from execution.
ATIKU NEVER SIGNED IT
The contract’s signature page, filed as part of the FARA Exhibit A and B package, tells its own story. Von Batten signed for VBMY on March 9, 2026. The line marked “HIS EXCELLENCY ATIKU ABUBAKAR” carries no signature from Atiku himself. Instead, it reads: “By: Fabiyi A. Oladimeji” — dated March 10, 2026.
Public records confirm that Hon. Oladimeji Fabiyi is not just “a Nigerian politician” or “loyalist.” He is Deputy National Financial Secretary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), inaugurated in February 2026 after serving as the pioneer financial officer of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Fabiyi signed a $1.2 million U.S. government affairs contract on behalf of a presidential aspirant, while serving as the treasurer-equivalent of the opposition party that those aspirations depend upon — and while that party was in the middle of an existential INEC derecognition crisis. The filing nowhere discloses his ADC title. The FARA record simply states that he acted on behalf of the client.
THE FIRM THEY HIRED
VBMY is registered at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Centre, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. — an address chosen for its symbolic resonance at the heart of federal Washington.
Its principal, Dr Karl-Marx Edward Ikemefuna William George Okeke-Von Batten, has prior FARA registration experience representing African state clients, including the DRC President’s Office. The firm reported zero domestic lobbying income in 2025 per Lobbying Disclosure Act filings. The Atiku contract is its flagship engagement for 2026.
The agreement references a “Government Affairs: Confidential Strategic Memorandum dated 13 January 2026” — meaning the groundwork for this Washington operation was laid weeks before anyone in Nigeria knew about it.
WHY THIS MATTERS AHEAD OF 2027
The Tinubu administration leverages established resources and diplomatic ties for its presence in Washington. This contract signals that the Atiku camp is actively seeking to compete with that infrastructure by using American lobbyists, funded through $1.2 million and channelled via an ADC officer. This preemptive action underscores a planned, significant intervention in the foreign policy landscape before Nigeria’s 2027 elections, with potential to reshape narratives and alliances in US-Nigeria relations.
The supplemental FARA statements — which will detail actual contacts made, officials met, and materials disseminated — are due within 30 days of the filing date. Those documents will reveal whether this war in Tinubu’s Washington has already begun firing.
