Former Minister of Aviation and ambassador-designate to South Africa, Femi Fani-Kayode, has attacked Karl Ikemefuna Von Batten and his United States-based lobbying and public relations firm over their activities relating to President Bola Tinubu.
Fani-Kayode, in a statement posted on his X handle on Tuesday, accused Von Batten and his firm, Von Batten-Montague-York LC, of circulating what he described as false and misleading information about Tinubu.
He said his email and direct messages across his social media platforms had been flooded with materials published by Von Batten about the Nigerian president.
“My email and the DM on all my social media handles have been flooded with the hogwash that you publish about President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on a daily basis by people from all over the world,” Fani-Kayode said.
The former minister accused Von Batten of attempting to portray Tinubu as a criminal despite the president not having been convicted of any crime.
He also dismissed allegations that Tinubu allegedly attempted to bribe Von Batten with $3 million through an associate to secure his silence.
Fani-Kayode described the allegation as false and challenged Von Batten to provide evidence to support the claim.
He said those pursuing the disclosure case involving Tinubu in the United States should allow the court proceedings to run their course.
According to him, the matter would ultimately yield nothing, adding that he agreed with the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, who had reportedly described the issue as “a storm in a teacup” that was “going nowhere”.
Fani-Kayode expressed confidence that the American judiciary would uphold the rule of law and protect what he described as Tinubu’s legitimate privacy rights.
He also accused Von Batten of having a personal obsession with the matter and questioned his identity, educational background and the circumstances surrounding his adoption of the surname Von Batten.
The former minister claimed he had been informed that Von Batten adopted the surname through his marriage to Elizabeth Von Batten.
He questioned why the US-based lobbyist, whose records allegedly carried the Nigerian name Ikemefuna Okeke, was publicly known as Karl Von Batten.
Fani-Kayode further alleged that Von Batten had been hired by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and paid $1.2 million to pursue legal and lobbying efforts against Tinubu.
He accused Von Batten of misleading Atiku and pursuing what he described as a futile campaign.
“If this were not the case how did you manage to fool His Excellency Abubakar Atiku, the great Wazirin Adamawa, into paying you 1.2 million USD for pursuing a futile cause and treading a fruitless path that will lead to nowhere and end in NOTHING!” he said.
Fani-Kayode also questioned Von Batten’s claims about his academic qualifications, saying there appeared to be no publicly available confirmation of his alleged attendance at institutions including Oxford, Columbia, Harvard, Cornell and the New York Institute of Technology.
He maintained that efforts by Von Batten, his firm and others allegedly working against Tinubu would fail.
According to Fani-Kayode, neither legal proceedings in the United States nor lobbying activities would determine Tinubu’s political future.
“President Tinubu’s destiny and fate is not in your hands but rather in the hands of God and the Nigerian people,” he said.
Fani-Kayode added that the outcome of the ongoing legal and political controversies surrounding Tinubu would not be determined by social media campaigns or lobbying efforts, insisting that the president would remain focused on his administration and political future.