‘Tinubu-Trump Meeting Dead, $9m Lobbying Bid Failed’, US Firm Fires Back at Sunday Dare, President’s Supporters
*Lobbying outfit alleges failed push to secure Trump’s backing for Tinubu, White House meeting
*Accuses administration supporters of spreading ‘false stories’
By OUR REPORTER
Von Batten-Montague-York claimed that its campaign had undermined what it described as a reported $9 million lobbying effort allegedly designed to improve Tinubu’s standing with United States President Donald Trump and secure greater U.S. political support for the Nigerian president.
A fresh war of words has erupted between United States-based lobbying firm Von Batten-Montague-York and supporters of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, with the firm claiming that an alleged multimillion-dollar campaign to influence Washington in favour of the Nigerian president has suffered a major setback.
The lobbying outfit, in a strongly worded statement issued on Sunday August 30, 2026, specifically mentioned Tinubu’s Special Adviser, Dr. Sunday Dare, and other supporters of the administration, alleging that they were unhappy with the activities of the firm and its founder, Dr. Von Batten.
It will recalled that Tinubu’s men in and outside of government in Nigeria have circulated statements, either in form of newspaper reports or social media postings, trying to neutralise updates by the lobbying firm on the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) records of the Nigerian president.
In the letter posted by Reno Omokri, Tinubu’s associate, attempting to confuse the minds of Nigerians over the FBI records of his principal being criminally investigated on heroin-trafficking case, it was said that back then when Tinubu was Governor of Lagos State, the US Embassy had cleared him of investigation on any criminal offence in the US.
The FBI records released on sworn affidavit Thursday August 28, 2026, however, have put question marks on those claims in the letter circulated by Omokri, whose appointment by Tinubu as Nigeria’s Ambassador to Mexico is still in the balance.
Von Batten-Montague-York claimed that its campaign had undermined what it described as a reported $9 million lobbying effort allegedly designed to improve Tinubu’s standing with United States President Donald Trump and secure greater U.S. political support for the Nigerian president.
According to Von Batten-Montague-York, the alleged lobbying campaign was aimed at shaping Washington’s perception of Tinubu and securing high-level engagement between the Nigerian president and Trump.
The firm further claimed that an anticipated meeting between Tinubu and Trump on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly would no longer take place.
“President #Tinubu’s planned @UN meeting with President #Trump is dead,” the firm declared.
It also claimed that efforts to secure a meeting between Tinubu and Trump at the White House had failed, alongside what it described as an attempt to obtain U.S. support for his presidential campaign ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 elections.
Unlike the alleged circulation of questionable US Embassy letter he accused Reno Omokri, which he provided document to prove earlier, the firm did not provide documentary evidence in the statement to independently establish either the alleged $9 million expenditure or its claim that the purported Tinubu-Trump engagements had been cancelled because of its lobbying activities.
‘Millions spent to shape Washington’s perception’
In its statement, the organisation alleged that Tinubu’s supporters had invested substantial financial resources and time in an effort to influence political opinion in Washington.
“You spent millions of dollars and countless hours trying to shape Washington’s perception of President #Tinubu,” the firm said.
It subsequently accused individuals in the president’s camp of reacting to the alleged failure of the lobbying effort by circulating what it described as false accounts concerning its activities and its founder.
The firm said such a response, if true, would demonstrate that the administration had not learnt from what it characterised as the failure of the lobbying campaign.
“If your response to failure is to invent false stories about our work and Dr. Von Batten, then you have learned nothing from that failure,” it said.
The organisation then delivered a sharply worded message to the Nigerian government, stressing that it was merely a private lobbying firm while describing its opponents as representatives of the Federal Government of Nigeria.
“We are just a lobbying firm. You are the Federal Government of Nigeria. Show some dignity when you lose,” the statement added.
‘We understand their frustration’
The firm adopted a deliberately mocking tone in responding to what it described as the displeasure of Tinubu, Dare and their supporters.
“We understand their frustration, and we would like to play the world’s smallest violin for their sorrows,” the organisation said.
It alleged that the controversy had arisen particularly because of the work being undertaken by Dr. Von Batten and his organisation against the reported lobbying campaign.
The statement suggested that the firm intended to continue its activities despite opposition from individuals associated with the Tinubu administration.
Claims of failed US engagement
The latest statement contains several significant claims concerning the Nigerian president’s alleged diplomatic and political engagement with the Trump administration.
Von Batten-Montague-York asserted that efforts to obtain Trump’s support for Tinubu had failed and that a proposed White House meeting would not happen.
It further claimed that an attempt to obtain U.S. support for Tinubu’s 2027 presidential campaign had also collapsed.
The firm did not, however, disclose in the statement the specific evidence upon which it based its assertion that the engagements had been cancelled, nor did it identify the source of its information concerning the alleged $9 million expenditure.
Consequently, the claims remain allegations made by the lobbying firm and have not been independently established in the statement.
Escalating Washington controversy
The development is the latest in a series of increasingly confrontational exchanges surrounding attempts to influence the political narrative about Tinubu in the United States.
The controversy has drawn attention to the role of lobbying organisations in shaping U.S. political and policy perceptions of foreign governments and political leaders.
For Tinubu’s administration, relations with Washington remain strategically important, given the United States’ influence on Nigeria’s diplomatic, security and economic interests.
The latest intervention by Von Batten-Montague-York therefore places the alleged lobbying campaign within the broader political contest ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 presidential election.
The firm’s statement also directly escalates its public confrontation with individuals it associates with Tinubu’s administration, particularly Dare.
Full statement
In its own words, Von Batten-Montague-York said:
“We have learned that Nigerian President Bola Tinubu (@officialABAT), Dr. Sunday Dare (@SundayDareSD), Special Adviser to President #Tinubu, and their supporters are deeply unhappy with us, particularly with our founder, Dr. Von Batten, over our work destroying their reported $9 million lobbying campaign to win over President @realDonaldTrump.
“We understand their frustration, and we would like to play the world’s smallest violin for their sorrows.
“Here are the facts: President #Tinubu’s planned @UN meeting with President #Trump is dead. The effort to secure President Trump’s support for #Tinubu has failed. The pushed White House meeting is not going to happen. The effort to secure U.S. support for #Tinubu’s presidential campaign has failed.
“You spent millions of dollars and countless hours trying to shape Washington’s perception of President #Tinubu. If your response to failure is to invent false stories about our work and Dr. Von Batten, then you have learned nothing from that failure. We are just a lobbying firm. You are the Federal Government of Nigeria. Show some dignity when you lose.”
The latest claims are likely to fuel further debate over the extent of lobbying and political engagement allegedly being undertaken in Washington ahead of the 2027 Nigerian elections.
The allegations contained in the statement, including the reported $9 million lobbying expenditure and the claim that a planned Tinubu-Trump meeting has been cancelled, have not been independently verified from the information available in the statement.
