Karl Von Batten, the United States-based lobbyist linked to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has reposted an announcement claiming that he was appointed by US President Donald Trump to serve on a White House presidential commission.
The development comes days after the announcement was removed from the official social media account of Von Batten-Montague-York, L.C., sparking questions over the status of the appointment.
The lobbyist reposted the announcement late Sunday, roughly a day after explaining why the original post had been deleted.
Politics Nigeria earlier reported that the firm initially announced that Von Batten was appointed on August 31 to serve as a commissioner on the White House Commission on Presidential Scholars.
The announcement stated: “We are glad to announce that on August 31, 2026, Dr Von Batten was appointed by President Donald J. Trump to serve as a Commissioner on the White House Commission on Presidential Scholars.
“We will remain grateful to the most consequential American President in our lifetime for choosing to honor Dr Von Batten with that appointment.
“God bless America, and may all who oppose her fail.”
The post later disappeared from the firm’s verified X account.
Von Batten subsequently said the post was taken down after the White House informed him that officials of the Nigerian government had repeatedly contacted the US administration to complain about the appointment.
The lobbyist maintained that the removal did not mean he had abandoned the position or withdrawn from the process.
Von Batten-Montague-York has been retained by Atiku, the African Democratic Congress presidential candidate, under a 12-month agreement reportedly worth $1.2 million.
Documents filed under the United States Foreign Agents Registration Act showed that the firm was engaged to provide government affairs and strategic advisory services for Atiku.
The agreement includes efforts to strengthen Atiku’s standing among US policymakers and counter narratives from the Nigerian government.
The firm has also become increasingly vocal on political and legal issues involving President Bola Tinubu.
In recent months, it has raised allegations concerning historical US records linked to Tinubu and has said it was engaging officials in Washington over the matter.
The firm’s activities have therefore placed Von Batten at the centre of an increasingly internationalised political contest between supporters of Atiku and Tinubu ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
However, the reported Trump appointment should not automatically be interpreted as an endorsement of Atiku or the ADC by the US president.
In a related development, Von Batten-Montague-York said on July that it had begun circulating more than 60 pages of US Department of Justice documents and other court materials concerning historical proceedings involving Tinubu.
Atiku’s media aide, Paul Ibe, later claimed that the documents had been brought to Trump’s attention through the lobbying firm.
Ibe wrote on X: “Finally, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s @officialABAT 60-page DOJ files on heroine trafficking and forfeiture of $460,000 has been brought to the attention of @realDonaldTrump courtesy of a US lobbyist firm, @batten_von.
“Manuel Noriega on my mind. Nigerians deserve to know the whole truth and nothing but the truth. The best is being saved for last.”
However, there was no independent evidence at the time showing that Trump had personally reviewed the documents or taken action on them.
The controversy also drew a response from the Presidency.
Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communications, Sunday Dare, rejected claims coming from the lobbying firm and accused the opposition camp of using the reports as part of its political campaign ahead of 2027.
On September 1, Dare described the reports as “a clinical demonstration of desperation.”
He also argued that statements from Von Batten should not be mistaken for official positions of the US government.
“The incendiary press releases being carefully churned out from Washington are public relations propaganda sheets passed off as the view of the U.S. Government. They are not,” Dare said.
The Presidency has maintained that Von Batten is a private lobbyist working for Atiku and does not speak for Trump or the US government.
The issue became more contentious after Von Batten-Montague-York alleged that it had been offered $3 million to abandon its campaign concerning historical US records linked to Tinubu.
The firm said the alleged offer came from an unnamed individual it claimed had links to the Nigerian president.
It further alleged that the individual proposed a confidential meeting in London.
Von Batten-Montague-York said Von Batten rejected the offer and retained communications relating to the alleged approach.
The firm said it intended to submit the matter to US authorities.
However, the allegation has not been independently established.
