WASHINGTON, DC — The political battle ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 presidential election has taken a new international dimension, following claims by a Washington-based lobbying firm that the administration of United States President Donald Trump has no intention of endorsing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for a second term.
The claim was made by Karl Von Batten, managing partner of Von Batten-Montague-York, L.C., a Washington lobbying firm engaged by former Vice-President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar.
Von Batten alleged that the Trump administration would continue its bilateral engagement with Nigeria on issues of mutual interest but would not throw its political weight behind Tinubu ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
In a statement circulated on Thursday, he alleged that Tinubu was viewed in Washington in connection with longstanding U.S. drug-trafficking allegations. The allegation remains contested and should not be treated as an established criminal finding against the Nigerian president.
The latest claim comes against the backdrop of an ongoing lobbying campaign by Atiku’s team in Washington. The Cable reported in July that Von Batten-Montague-York had begun providing members of the Trump administration and U.S. Congress with Department of Justice records relating to a 1993 civil forfeiture case involving funds connected to Tinubu.
The lobbying firm was reportedly hired by Atiku under a 12-month, $1.2 million contract aimed, among other objectives, at strengthening his reputation in the United States and countering what the contract described as Nigerian government lobbying narratives.
‘No support for Tinubu’
Von Batten claimed that efforts by a Nigerian government delegation in Washington to secure a personal meeting between Tinubu and Trump had not produced the desired result.
He said the United States would continue working with Nigeria where the two countries’ interests aligned, but alleged that Washington would not support Tinubu’s re-election bid.
The statement represents the latest escalation in a dispute that has increasingly moved beyond Nigeria’s domestic political arena into Washington’s diplomatic and political circles.
US-Nigeria talks continue
The allegations came as Nigerian and U.S. officials held discussions in Washington under the Nigeria-U.S. Joint Working Group framework.
According to a report carried by AllAfrica, the talks focused on counter-terrorism, protection of vulnerable communities, accountability for perpetrators of violence and military-to-military cooperation. The Nigerian delegation was led by National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu, while U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Allison Hooker led the American side.
The U.S. reportedly acknowledged progress by Nigeria in areas including counter-terrorism prosecutions, police recruitment and judicial capacity, while also identifying continuing concerns over civilian deaths and transparency in humanitarian expenditure.
These official engagements indicate that Washington continues to maintain institutional relations with Abuja, even as political actors and lobbyists seek to influence perceptions of Nigeria’s leadership ahead of 2027.
Protocol controversy
Von Batten also questioned the level at which the Nigerian delegation was received in Washington.
He argued that, under conventional diplomatic protocol, a delegation led by Foreign Minister Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu would ordinarily be expected to engage with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, rather than an Under Secretary.
He interpreted the meeting with Allison Hooker as a possible indication that the Trump administration was deliberately maintaining a particular level of engagement with the Nigerian delegation.
However, such an interpretation is the lobbying firm’s assessment and does not, by itself, establish Washington’s official position on Tinubu’s presidency or his 2027 candidacy.
Tinubu’s alleged U.S. drug record returns to political spotlight
The controversy is rooted in a decades-old U.S. civil forfeiture proceeding involving funds associated with Tinubu.
The Cable reported that records being circulated by Von Batten-Montague-York include documents from a 1993 case in which U.S. authorities alleged that funds in accounts connected to Tinubu were proceeds of heroin trafficking.
Tinubu has not been convicted in the United States of heroin trafficking, and the current allegations should therefore be distinguished from a criminal conviction.
The issue has nevertheless become a major component of Atiku’s international political strategy.
Atiku has argued that questions arising from public records deserve factual answers, while the Presidency has accused him and his associates of attempting to undermine Nigeria’s sovereignty by taking domestic political disputes to foreign governments.
Atiku’s camp steps up Washington campaign
The latest development could further intensify the emerging international dimension of Nigeria’s 2027 presidential contest.
BusinessDay previously reported that Atiku’s Washington lobbying operation had begun distributing records relating to Tinubu’s 1993 U.S. forfeiture case to officials in the Trump administration, Congress and senior congressional offices.
The strategy appears designed to ensure that Tinubu’s past legal controversies remain part of the information available to American policymakers as Washington engages Nigeria.
Meanwhile, Tinubu’s administration has continued to seek closer cooperation with the United States, particularly in counter-terrorism, defence, intelligence sharing and economic relations.
A July letter attributed to Trump and released by the Nigerian Presidency also generated controversy, with critics questioning its authenticity and whether it constituted an endorsement of Tinubu’s 2027 political ambitions. The Presidency presented the letter as praise for Tinubu’s efforts against insecurity, while critics demanded greater transparency concerning the original document.
A new battlefront for 2027
The latest Washington controversy underscores how Nigeria’s 2027 presidential contest is increasingly extending beyond domestic political structures.
For Atiku and his supporters, the objective appears to be ensuring that questions surrounding Tinubu’s U.S. legal history remain visible among American policymakers.
For the Tinubu administration, the challenge is to preserve strategic relations with Washington while countering allegations that could damage the President’s international reputation.
For now, there is no independently verified evidence that President Trump has formally declared that he will not support Tinubu’s re-election, nor has the White House publicly announced that Tinubu is an “alleged heroin trafficker.” The claim is being advanced by Von Batten-Montague-York, a lobbying firm working for Atiku, and should be understood in that context.
What is clear, however, is that Washington has become another arena in Nigeria’s increasingly competitive 2027 presidential contest.
