FACT CHECK: Did Atiku hire US lobbyists to get him recognised as president or was the story fabricated?

By 'Kunle ADEBAJO On Apr 11, 2019

ON Tuesday, the Centre for Responsive Politics, a nonprofit research group based in Washington DC, reported that presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, is lobbying the United States to recognise him as Nigeria’s “authentic president”.

Basing its report on FARA (Foreign Agents Registration Act) filings, the Centre said Bruce Fein and his firm Fein & DelValle PLLC registered as foreign agents on Abubakar’s behalf to provide legal, consultancy, and public advocacy services over a 90-day period for $30,000.

“In the contract, Fein’s firm is explicit in promising to ‘obtain official recognition that you are the authentic President of Nigeria based on an accurate counting of legal ballots.’ The goal of the effort is straightforwardly described as ‘to convince the United States that your presidency would open a fresh and new chapter in Nigerian politics,'” it stated.

The following day, the Centre’s findings were shared by various local news agencies, including TheCable and Sahara Reporters.

Atiku’s swift dismissal
Reacting on Wednesday, Atiku through his spokesman, Paul Ibe, denied the reports and described them as “total fabrication” and “fake news” by the All Progressives Congress, which it alleged to have lying as its “only bragging rights of competence.”

“Since Atiku resisted pressure not to go to court, the APC has been behaving like a cat on hot bricks because the outcome of the 2019 elections has exposed and shattered the facade of their dubious integrity,” Ibe said in the statement. “The APC are behaving nervously like a thief living under the fear of being exposed and shamed; they are now using fake news against Atiku instead of focusing on defending themselves in the court.”

He added: “For a party that has broken the worst record in election rigging, the APC doesn’t have any iota of integrity to be taken seriously by anybody. Atiku’s court case has become their biggest burden because it exposes their integrity as a sham, and instead of defending their stolen mandate in court, they are now using fake news to divert public attention from the historic electoral heist they have committed against Nigerians.

“No amount of diversionary propaganda and fake news campaign by APC will stop Atiku Abubakar from continuing the court action he started to reclaim the stolen mandate.”

Our findings
The United States, in 1938, passed a law known as the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). FARA requires agents representing foreign principals in a “political or quasi-political capacity” to disclose the nature and details of their contract with the other party.


Some of Atiku Abubakar’s contracts with US organisations. Source: fara.gov
All disclosures made are uploaded onto an online database by the US Department of Justice and made accessible to the public. On April 2, Fein & DelValle PLLC, Washington DC-based law firm, registered an active contract it has with “Atiku Abubakar and the People’s Democratic Party of Nigeria”, with registration number 6654.

In the part of the registration form requiring the nature and method of executing the agreement, Fein & DelValle stated that it will be providing “legal, consultancy and public advocacy services to encourage Congress and the President to forebear from final declaration and recognition of a winner of Nigeria’s February 23, 2019 presidential ejection until outstanding legal challenges to the initial Government of Nigeria assertion that incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari was the victor are impartially and independently resolved by the Supreme Court of Nigeria without political or military influence, intimidation, or manipulation; and, engage in public advocacy to applaud all candidates in the presidential election who are supporting and following the rule of law in resolving the outstanding electoral disputes.”

The law firm, according to the agreement, is expected to consult with Congress members towards passing House and Senate resolutions to restrain from a final recognition of a winner pending a fair determination of the legal issues, draft articles and op-eds “to spotlight the issues in Nigeria post-2019 presidential election and to promote the rule of law and due process in resolving electoral disputes in Nigeria”, and then “make television and other media appearances to engage in public advocacy discussions of these issues”.

It also attached a letter written to Atiku on March 20, where it said the terms of the contract include its representation of the PDP candidate “in the United States and in international forums to obtain official recognition that you are the authentic President of Nigeria based on an accurate counting of legal ballots cast on February 23, 2019.”




Fein & DelVille agreed to help Atiku secure recognition as the authentic President of Nigeria.
Asides this agreement, The ICIR also discovered an earlier contract between Atiku and John Barnett registered in February where the presidential candidate offered to pay the lobbyist $150,000 to facilitate a trip to Washington DC, the US capital.

Our verdict
Atiku Abubakar’s claim that the report about his contract with the US firm is a “total fabrication” is false.

Information on the US Justice Department’s FARA portal establish that such contract exists, where Atiku is seeking to be acknowledged abroad as “the authentic President of Nigeria” based on PDP’s grounds for challenging the declared results.

We brought our findings to the attention of Ibe on Thursday but the call was abruptly ended and another call placed to him immediately after was not answered. A text seeking to confirm whether the PDP has seen documents from the US government contradicting its press statement has also not been replied.

https://www.icirnigeria.org/fact-check-did-atiku-hire-us-lobbyists-to-get-him-recognised-as-president-or-was-the-story-fabricated/#.XK__D5KKbD0.twitter

Those of you saying that Atiku is desperate, was it not the same desperation that made the dullard to contest for President 2003-2015 all because he doesn't have a career. Now all of us are suffering it. Atiku is a successful business man he might decide to leave the court case if he knows that it won't come to fruition

Who shall we ask

APC lobbyists?

It doesn't matter how long evil last, it will not thrive, one day it will crash like a tent pitched by the side of the sea.

APC keep imposing and superimposing their choice candidates against THE PEOPLE'S wish

Buhari stubborn die. It will take more than that to get buhari out

You can't become a president through backdoor

a

Ok

Game...same way APC hired a whytee to declare rigged elections it as its winner.

Distractions everywhere.

I heard bokoharam now has a farm somewhere in northwest, after oga said "bokoharam is depeated" again.

Loser

return his stolen mandate

Yes

Will noisy APC ever find rest?

Hmmm

I voted you but right now you are acting too desperate. Nigeria however needs desperate rescue so I kinda like what you are doing. But when I remember Venezuela and Libya, I say no to American help

Atiku is showing to be overly desperate, and this can only point to two things.

.... Sell NNPC....

.....My friends and family deserve to be rich.....


I now strongly believe there was an upfront payment for NNPC and Onnoghen was in on it.

This man is desperate.

My own is,: US goverment are sooo corrupt they make us look like learners. They commit all sort of corrupt practices and use grammar to deceive themselves. Everything is lobbying, lobbyists even have recognized offices. You have a pending case in court and you need a quick US visa without immigration harrasment, just pay the lobby group, and if it's goverment contract you want, there is lobby group for that.

While our own youth are called thieves and yahoo boys, theirs are called redhat hackers. Yet they make *50 What a Nigerian youth can ever make on the net

They invade countries for oil and cover up with big big grammars like Biological weapons and threat to humanity

My own advice to Buhari is for him to completely forget about Atiku and he should ignore all his provocative antics atleast till the 180 days election legal procedure can be exhausted, atiku is looking for a reason so as to get arrested or detained by buhari, with that his lobby group can contact one of their crooked Congressmen and Secetary of States, And Diplomatic mission head to kick start the dirty work


.

... Shameless leaders imagine a man of over 70yrs seeking for help from USA to recognize him as president? What a shame.. These guys bring more shame on US than yahoo boys. When the elections wanted to hold Atiku and Buhari invited Clinton he didn't honour their invitation because of Election what a shame. I don't want to question God why I'm from this country.
As old as we're as a country we can't decide for ourselves it's a really big shame. I don't see a country as small as Belgium running from pillar to post to seek help in her internal issues from America. But the Agbaya leaders we've are so shameless. America will never seek our opinion in their affairs. Even some of our useless youth give them too much importance. Spits

This kind of desperation is beyond love or eagerness to serve the country, the desperation is to further cripple everything about Nigeria. I can tell he's so banked on becoming the president that he had not giving an alternative option in case he lose, and now that he lost, he's doing all bid to not further drown.

I swear, had this man been declared the winner, Nigeria would have by now, gotten absolutely worse.

But then US lobbying or not, I dare to say, US cannot do anything here. Nothing absolutely.

Below is the attachment of the document. And the fact that Atiku denied this claim shows how treacherous and the fraud that he is.

APC must be afraid of this man.

kaen1317:
Buhari stubborn die. It will take more than that to get buhari out

Actually it won't
If it is proved beyond reasonable doubt that atiku won then watch and see

Do you understand what it means when the western powers calls atiku to congratulate him as president instead of the incumbent?
Men that will turn any country upside down

Na so so fake news this APC govt sabi

Everybody just dey chop Atiku's remaining dollars..

Now that he has been busted, we are waiting for another twisted story

Reading every bit of this writeup clearly shows Atiku is desperate and I don't know what is informing the desperation if it is truly the heart to serve or just to returning the looting party to power.
But whatever it is, be rest assured that he's going to regret every bit of it at the end.

Nigerians have moved on, Atiku please move on. OBJ spared your rebellion but Buhari won't, stay out of trouble. Please any of you that read this humble advice of mine should kindly pass it to him.