A United States lobbying firm, Von Batten-Montague-York, has asked the United States Government of President Donald Trump to investigate the fake agency scandal that is rocking the Nigerian Presidency.
The firm also said it is ready to assist the embattled Director-General of the “fathom” Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, Adeniyi Adeyemi, in seeking asylum in the United States.
This follows a series of posts published over the weekend and on Monday by Dr. Von Batten, who said his team had been in contact with Adeyemi and are taking steps to brief members of the US Congress and other agencies on the allegations against against senior Nigerian government officials, with President Bola Tinubu’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila at the heart of the historic scandal.
In a post shared on Saturday via X, Von Batten said the firm was prepared to help Adeyemi seek asylum in the United States and obtain whistleblower protection.
“To anyone in contact with Mr. Adeyemi, we are very interested in speaking with him. We are prepared to assist Mr. Adeyemi in seeking asylum in the United States and requesting whistleblower protection,” he wrote.
According to him, because the United States is the largest shareholder in the World Bank, any credible allegations involving World Bank-funded projects in Nigeria would be of interest to American authorities.
“Because @WorldBankGroup funds reportedly form part of Nigeria’s national budget, and the United States is the World Bank’s largest shareholder, any credible allegations involving those funds would be of significant interest to U.S. authorities,” he stated.
Von Batten also warned that if any harm came to Adeyemi, his team would demand a full investigation and accountability.
In another post on Monday, Von Batten said he had spoken directly with Adeyemi and considered him “sincere and credible,” adding that the allegations deserved investigation by multiple US institutions.
“This is Dr. Von Batten. I just spoke with Mr. Adeyemi. I found him to be sincere and credible. Based on our discussion, I believe his allegations warrant an investigation by Congress, @StateDept, @USTreasury, @USGAO, and other relevant U.S. agencies due to the alleged misappropriation of U.S.-funded World Bank loans by senior members of the Nigerian government,” he wrote.
He further claimed that he had already briefed senior members of US President Donald Trump’s team over the weekend and that congressional briefings would begin this week.
“This past weekend, I briefed senior members of President @realDonaldTrump’s team on these allegations, and our team will begin briefing Members of Congress this week,” he said.
According to Von Batten, Adeyemi alleged that he was appointed by Mr. Gbajabiamila to head a Nigerian presidential agency, was provided office accommodation within government premises, had bank accounts opened for the agency through the Central Bank of Nigeria, and that the agency received funding through Nigeria’s national budget, including financing allegedly supported by the World Bank.
Von Batten further stated that Adeyemi alleged Gbajabiamila demanded 45 per cent of the agency’s budget and that after he refused, he became the target of retaliation while the agency was later labelled fraudulent.
He added that Adeyemi informed him that he and members of his family had received threats and were currently in hiding over safety concerns.
Recall that the Nigeria Police had recently arrested Adeyemi’s father, in what lawyers say its an illegal substituted arrrest.
Von Batten however warned that if any harm came to Adeyemi while he was preparing to cooperate with US officials, Tinubu would be held responsible.
The Tinubu Government had yet to heed calls by Nigerians to order an independent probe into the messy scandal.
Also the Nigerian Legislature, headed by Tinubu ally, Godswill Akpabio, had shied away from its oversight function, refusing to dig into the fake agency it allocated public funds to under a budget that went through Senate scrutiny.