Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has dismissed a referral by US-based lobbying firm Von Batten-Montague-York to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), describing the development as a “storm in a teacup” and a “journey to nowhere.”
Keyamo made the remark in a post on his X account on Sunday, following allegations by the lobbying firm that Nigerian government officials were mounting a coordinated campaign against its managing partner, Dr Karl Von Batten.
Von Batten-Montague-York, which has been retained by African Democratic Congress presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar, said it had referred the matter to the FBI’s Washington Field Office for assessment.
The firm alleged that Keyamo, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, and Special Adviser to the President, Sunday Dare, were involved in efforts to disrupt its advocacy activities in the United States.
According to the firm, the alleged activities were linked to its efforts to obtain and publicise FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration records concerning claims about Tinubu’s past in the United States.
The firm described its September 5 submission as an “Information Referral Concerning Potential Foreign-Government Harassment, Interference, and Transnational Repression.”
It asked the FBI to assess whether the alleged conduct had any counterintelligence, foreign-influence, transnational-repression, harassment, interference or national-security implications under US law.
However, Von Batten-Montague-York stated that it was not alleging that a federal crime had been committed. It said the referral was intended to provide information for US authorities to independently assess the matter.
The firm also alleged that Nigerian officials had contacted the White House over Von Batten’s reported appointment to a US presidential commission.
The allegation followed a dispute over the firm’s activities and its involvement in the ongoing US Freedom of Information Act litigation concerning records related to Tinubu.
Onanuga had previously described the FOIA case as a civil records-disclosure dispute rather than a criminal proceeding and maintained that Von Batten was not a party to the suit.
Von Batten-Montague-York has also filed a supplemental submission connected to the FOIA litigation, while continuing to accuse Nigerian officials of attempting to interfere with its US advocacy activities.
The firm’s claims about alleged contacts between Nigerian officials and the White House have not been independently confirmed by the White House or the Nigerian government.
The latest development adds to the growing dispute between the lobbying firm and officials of the Tinubu administration over the US records controversy.
Reacting to the latest allegations, Keyamo simply wrote: “Storm in a teacup; journey to nowhere.”
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