Okechukwu to Atiku: $1.2m U.S lobby can’t boost your global profile
By Jide Orintunsin, Abuja A stalwart of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Osita Okechukwu, has faulted the recent move by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to bolster his
By Jide Orintunsin, Abuja
A stalwart of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Osita Okechukwu, has faulted the recent move by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to bolster his international standing through a Washington-based lobbying firm.
Okechukwu described Atiku’s move as an “expensive distraction” that fails to address the fundamental political hurdles he faces within Nigeria.
The APC stalwart raised these concerns in a statement yesterday in Abuja in reaction to reports that, ahead of his 2027 presidential ambition, Atiku has engaged Von Batten-Montague-York, L.C. to enhance his global profile.
According to documents filed with the U.S. Department of Justice, the deal is valued at $1.2 million.
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The agreement, signed on March 10, was reportedly facilitated by Karl Von Batten for the firm and a Nigerian politician, Fabiyi Oladimeji, on behalf of the former Vice President.
Details of the filing showed that the PR firm will provide strategic advisory, congressional, and executive branch engagement, and reputational management services targeted at the U.S. policymakers and institutions for Atiku.
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Acknowledging that reputation management is a staple of modern politics, Okechukwu, who is a fellow of the Nigeria Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), argued that no amount of international branding can bypass the “zoning convention” — the informal but powerful agreement to rotate the presidency between Nigeria’s North and South.
“One holds His Excellency Atiku Abubakar in high regard... however, it is pertinent to recognise that domestic political conventions like rotation of power cannot be effectively addressed through external image-building alone,” Okechukwu stated.
Using a local proverb to highlight the futility of Atiku’s move, the APC stalwart remarked: “Going by our local wisdom, it is illogical to go to Sokoto to look for what is in one’s sokoto (trousers) or babaringa dress. Zoning convention is in Atiku’s babaringa; it was his main albatross in the 2023 presidential election, as it is today.”
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Okechukwu reminded Atiku’s handlers that the convention he now appears to bypass was the foundation of his political rise.
He noted that in 1999, prominent northerners, like the late Kano State Governor Abubakar Rimi, ex-Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Adamu Ciroma, and erstwhile Senate President Sola Saraki, respected the shift to the South, which paved the way for the Obasanjo-Atiku ticket.
He noted the contradictions in Atiku’s political journey regarding the zoning policy.
Okechukwu noted that in 2014 Atiku famously exited the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), citing the importance of the zoning convention, while four years later, he triumphed in the PDP primaries largely because Southern aspirants stepped aside in honour of the North’s turn.
The immediate past Director General of the Voice of Nigeria (VON) recalled that in 2023, Atiku’s refusal to adhere to the Southward rotation became a focal point of internal party crisis and electoral friction.
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The NIPR Fellow maintained that the majority of Nigerians remain committed to the rotation of power as a recipe for national unity and inclusion.
He suggested that $1.2 million spent in Washington DC could not buy the “trust” required to heal the rift caused by ignoring local political sensitivities.
“Ultimately, sustainable political acceptance is built on trust, inclusiveness, and respect for established conventions,” Okechukwu said.
The APC chieftain added: “These are the foundations upon which lasting leadership is achieved.”
