President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is dealing with a recent criticism from his residence area as a distinguished pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Ìgbìnmó Májékóbájé Ilé-Yorùbá, has condemned the federal authorities’s choice to commit $9 million to a United States-based lobbying agency.
The group described the expenditure as a “reckless” waste of nationwide assets at a time when Nigerians are grappling with unprecedented ranges of killings, kidnappings, and {economic} hardship.
Politics Nigeria earlier reported that the Nigerian authorities, by the Workplace of the Nationwide Safety Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, engaged the DCI Group, a Republican-linked agency in Washington.
The contract, reportedly facilitated by a Kaduna-based regulation agency, Aster Authorized, goals to handle the administration’s picture within the U.S. and persuade the federal government of President Donald Trump that Nigeria is successfully defending Christian communities and preventing jihadist components.
In a strongly-worded assertion signed by its Convener, Olusola Badero, and launched by Residence Director Princess Balogun, the Yoruba group alleged that the administration is extra targeted on “international picture laundering” and “second-term political calculations” than the security of its residents.
The group argued that the $9 million which is equal to roughly $750,000 per thirty days might have been higher utilized to equip safety companies or rebuild communities ravaged by terrorists.
Based on filings with the U.S. Division of Justice, an preliminary fee of $4.5 million was reportedly made on December 12, 2025, with one other installment due by July 2026.
“As a substitute of addressing the actual points confronting the nation, the Tinubu authorities is busy paying international people big sums of cash to inform lies about Nigeria’s safety state of affairs,” the assertion learn.
“In the meantime, Nigerians are being killed, kidnapped and attacked each day with out safety or justice.”
The group expressed dismay over what it described as a “pretense” of safety by the presidency. They identified that legal {groups} proceed to function freely throughout the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The union additionally criticized the federal government’s coverage of granting amnesty to “terrorists who’ve killed, kidnapped and picked up ransom from helpless Nigerians.”
Questioning the rationale behind the costly contract, the group requested: “Why is Tinubu losing residents’ assets to appease President Donald Trump, when he is aware of very properly that his authorities has a poor file in safety, the economic system and the political will required to crush terrorists?”
The group additional highlighted the dire state of the nation’s infrastructure, noting that “our faculties and hospitals are in horrible, dilapidated situations” whereas thousands and thousands of youngsters stay out of college as a result of prevailing insecurity.
Ìgbìnmó Májékóbájé Ilé-Yorùbá has known as on the worldwide group and U.S. authorities to research the lobbying deal.
They urged Nigerians to carry the President accountable for “squandering public funds on frivolous and non-essential actions” whereas the home state of affairs stays unstable.
The union maintained that native safety operations and victims of terrorism ought to be the precedence of any accountable authorities, fairly than looking for validation from international lobbyists who “don’t have anything significant to contribute to the lives of Nigerians.”