Von Batten-Montague-York accuses Europe of backing Tinubu’s bid to retain power
By KEMI KASUMU
“While the United States, under President @realDonaldTrump, stood on principle and made it clear that an alleged heroin trafficker had no place beside our President or in the White House, French President @EmmanuelMacron threw open the doors of the Élysée Palace (@Elysee) to President Tinubu. As we said before, the puppet strings are real,” it said.
A United States-based political advisory and lobbying firm, Von Batten-Montague-York, has accused European interests of working to ensure that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu remains in power beyond the 2027 Nigerian presidential election, despite obvious rejection by Nigerians for lack of performance.
The firm made the allegation in a statement circulated on social media, pointing specifically to a recent report by the London-based The Economist which it said suggested that Nigerians may re-elect President Tinubu although they have widespread dissatisfaction with his administration.
Von Batten-Montague-York interpreted the report as evidence of what it described as European efforts to support Tinubu politically.
The firm also linked Tinubu’s recent European engagements to the broader political controversy surrounding his international relations, asking rhetorically why the Nigerian President had travelled to London and Paris.
President Tinubu spent several weeks in Europe during a working vacation that began on August 30, 2026. According to the Nigerian Presidency, he first stayed in London before travelling to Paris, where he held engagements with French President Emmanuel Macron and business leaders.
In Paris, Macron hosted Tinubu for a private dinner at the Élysée Palace on September 17. Nigeria’s government described the meeting as reflecting the longstanding relationship between Nigeria and France and the two countries’ commitment to strengthening bilateral cooperation.
Von Batten-Montague-York contrasted the French engagement with what it portrayed as a different position in Washington, alleging that US President Donald Trump had maintained a distance from Tinubu because of longstanding allegations concerning the Nigerian President’s past.
The firm has repeatedly raised allegations connected to a 1990s US civil forfeiture case involving funds linked to Tinubu. According to reporting on documents circulated by the firm, US authorities investigated a heroin-trafficking organisation in the late 1980s and early 1990s and alleged that proceeds were deposited into accounts controlled by Tinubu. A separate civil forfeiture proceeding resulted in approximately $460,000 being forfeited to the US government. Tinubu has denied criminal wrongdoing and was not convicted of heroin trafficking in that case.
The firm’s assertion that Trump personally rejected a meeting with Tinubu because of the allegations, however, has not been independently established. A Nigerian fact-checking organisation previously found a separate social-media claim that Trump had called Tinubu a drug trafficker to be fabricated, noting that official US-Nigeria discussions in August focused on counterterrorism and related bilateral issues rather than Nigeria’s 2027 politics.
Von Batten-Montague-York has nevertheless continued to campaign publicly on the issue. In September, the firm claimed that efforts to arrange a Trump-Tinubu meeting around the United Nations General Assembly had failed because of concerns over the allegations. Those claims were not publicly corroborated by either the White House or the Nigerian Presidency at the time.
The firm’s political interest in Nigeria’s 2027 election has also been documented. TheCable reported in July that Von Batten-Montague-York had been retained by former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, a 2027 presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, under a 12-month, $1.2 million lobbying contract. The firm said it was providing US officials and lawmakers with documents relating to the allegations against Tinubu.
Against that background, the latest statement from the firm portrays Tinubu’s meetings with European leaders as part of a wider international political effort surrounding the 2027 election.
In its own words, the firm said, “The Europeans have officially launched their operation to ensure that their man, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu (@officialABAT), remains in power. The London-based @TheEconomist has magically declared that “Nigerians dislike their president, but may re-elect him anyway.” And people wonder what Tinubu was doing in London and Paris.
“While the United States, under President @realDonaldTrump, stood on principle and made it clear that an alleged heroin trafficker had no place beside our President or in the White House, French President @EmmanuelMacron threw open the doors of the Élysée Palace (@Elysee) to President Tinubu. As we said before, the puppet strings are real,” it said.
However, there is no independent evidence establishing that the British government, The Economist, the French government or President Macron is coordinating a campaign to keep Tinubu in office.
What is established is that Tinubu recently held high-level engagements in both London and Paris, including a private meeting with Macron at the Élysée Palace, while the President’s administration prepares for the 2027 electoral cycle.
The allegations by Von Batten-Montague-York therefore remain the firm’s political interpretation of Tinubu’s international engagements rather than an independently established European campaign to secure his re-election.
