The Lagos State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has dismissed criticisms by opposition parties over Nigeria’s engagement of a United States-based lobbying firm, describing the backlash as orchestrated outrage driven by ignorance of modern governance or deliberate misinformation.
In a statement issued on Friday by its spokesperson, Seye Oladejo, the Lagos APC defended the Federal Government’s decision to engage lobbyists, stressing that such engagements are lawful, transparent, and widely accepted international practice.
Recent reports revealed that Aster Legal, a Kaduna-based law firm, retained U.S. public affairs and lobbying firm, DCI Group, on behalf of the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), headed by Nuhu Ribadu.
The agreement was signed on December 17, 2025, by Aster Legal’s Managing Partner, Oyetunji Olalekan Teslim, and DCI Group’s Managing Member, Justin Peterson.
The development, however, drew criticism from opposition parties including the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), and the Labour Party.
The parties accused the Bola Tinubu administration of attempting to launder Nigeria’s image abroad at a time when citizens are grappling with rising insecurity and economic hardship.
In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC described the expenditure as a case of misplaced priorities, arguing that “no amount of paid lobbying can cover up bloodshed or the government’s failure to safeguard lives and property.”
Reacting, the Lagos APC said the opposition’s stance betrayed “either a grave misunderstanding of contemporary governance or a calculated attempt to mislead the public.”
The party maintained that governments across the world routinely engage lobbying and public affairs firms—particularly in strategic capitals such as Washington, D.C.—to promote national interests, attract foreign investment, correct misinformation, and strengthen diplomatic and security cooperation.
“Countries across North America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Africa deploy such firms to influence policy, boost trade, secure development assistance, and protect strategic assets,” the statement said. “Lobbying is a universal, lawful, and widely deployed instrument of statecraft.”
According to the Lagos APC, the sharp reaction from opposition parties reflects unease over the Federal Government’s decision to counter what it described as years of sustained demarketing of Nigeria on the global stage.
The party argued that the Tinubu administration now has an opportunity to project Nigeria’s reforms, priorities, and progress through legitimate international platforms and correct false or distorted narratives about the country.
“The Federal Government is not unaware of the enormous resources the opposition has historically deployed to talk Nigeria down internationally, while paradoxically remaining disappointed that their repeated predictions of national collapse have failed to materialise,” the statement read.
It added that by engaging global advocacy channels, the government has ensured that Nigeria’s story will be told “from a positive, factual, and forward-looking perspective—rather than through cynicism, misinformation, and politically motivated pessimism.”
The Lagos APC further insisted that the opposition’s discomfort was not rooted in concerns about accountability, but in the realisation that Nigeria has chosen “confidence over apology, engagement over silence, and leadership over provincial thinking.”
“Strategic international advocacy is not a crime,” the party said. “It is a necessity in an increasingly competitive global order.”
The party urged Nigerians to look beyond what it described as “manufactured hysteria” and support efforts to defend the nation’s interests and credibility on the global stage.
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