Nigeria: Warning Over Nigerian President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 Re-Election Bid Issued By Lobbying Firm, Not U.S. Government

Warning over Nigerian president Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid issued by lobbying firm, not US government

IN SHORT: Some Facebook posts claim the US government has warned that Nigerian president Bola Tinubu’s “agenda” has been thwarted so Nigerians can vote without fear of rigging. But the message comes from a US lobbying firm hired by presidential hopeful Atiku Abubakar, not the US government.

This is according to posts circulating on Facebook in October 2026.

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The posts claim Nigerians can vote without fear of rigging because there will be “grave consequences”.

#ATIKU2027: BREAKING!!! Washington DC Informs Nigerian Voters In The 2027 Presidential Election That President Bola Tinubu’s Agenda In The United States Of America Has Been Completely Destroyed; Declares That Nigerians Can Go Ahead To Vote Their Next President In The January 16, 2027, Presidential Election Without Any Fear Of Rigging, Because There Will Be Grave Consequences; Says ‘Only Nigerians Can Truly Save Nigeria. Fight, Fight, Fight For Your Future! We Believe In You!’

The posts refer to Washington DC, the US capital, as though the statement came from the US government. They also quote Karl von Batten.

Von Batten is a Nigerian-born political consultant and founder of Von Batten-Montague-York, a US-based political advisory and lobbying firm.

Nigerian politician and African Democratic Congress’s presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar hired von Batten’s firm to strengthen his “reputational standing” in the US, ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 general election.

The same claim appears here, here and here.

But did the US government release such a statement, as the posts suggest? We checked.

Africa Check ran a keyword search and found no such statement from the US government or president Donald Trump’s social media accounts.

Such a controversial statement by the US government ahead of Nigeria’s election would likely attract widespread media coverage. The absence of credible reports is a major red flag.

Instead, von Batten’s firm posted a statement on its X account on 10 October, saying Abubakar had tasked it with aggressively countering “Tinubu’s lies to the United States government and fight for the right of Nigerians to have a free and fair election”.

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The statement reads, in part: “As with every country in the world, U.S. foreign policy is governed by its national interests. Nigerian President Bola Tinubu (@officialABAT) knows this very well, which is why his number one priority was to convince the United States that his reelection was in its national interest, thereby allowing him to rig the upcoming election without fear of consequences.”

The Facebook posts in question also include #Atiku2027, suggesting pro-Abubakar accounts are circulating it.

Although von Batten’s firm claimed he was appointed commissioner on the US’s commission on presidential scholars, Africa Check did not find his name on the list of members.

The circulating posts present a lobbying firm’s message as a US government announcement. They are therefore misleading.

Read the original story, with links and other resources.Africa Check is a non-partisan organisation which promotes accuracy in public debate and in the media. X @AfricaCheck and www.africacheck.org

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