Tinubu’s $9m Washington lobbying contract “largest” by an African state

Nigeria has launched what appears to be the most expensive lobbying campaign ever undertaken by an African government in Washington, committing $9 million to a politically connected U.S. public affairs firm as it seeks to reshape American perceptions of its security crisis and safeguard military and diplomatic support.

The one-year contract, signed in December with DCI Group, carries a $750,000 monthly retainer and is aimed at communicating Nigeria’s efforts to protect Christian communities while maintaining U.S. backing in the fight against jihadist violence and other destabilising forces in West Africa. The Africa Report said the size of the deal is unusually large by African standards and may represent a record.

The scale and timing of the lobbying push highlights how exposed Abuja believes it has become to shifting narratives in Washington.

In recent months, violence in Nigeria has increasingly been reported in U.S. political discourse as a campaign of religious persecution, particularly against Christians – a characterisation disputed by Nigerian officials and many analysts, who argue the crisis is driven by insurgency, criminal banditry and state fragility rather than sectarian targeting.

That framing gained new momentum after President Donald Trump announced on Christmas Day that U.S. forces had carried out airstrikes in Sokoto, describing the targets as Islamist militants responsible for attacks that “primarily” affected “innocent Christians.”

The strike marked a rare public U.S. military action in Nigeria.

DCI Group’s roster on the Nigeria account reflects a deliberate strategy to engage the current U.S. political ecosystem.

The team includes managing member Justin Peterson, a Trump appointee, and senior adviser Doug Davenport, who worked on all three of Trump’s presidential campaigns and managed the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. Veteran Republican operative Roger Stone, a longtime Trump ally, is also consulting on the effort.

“Warmer Engagement”

There are signs the lobbying and diplomatic push may already be coinciding with warmer security engagement. On Tuesday, U.S. Africa Command announced the delivery of military supplies to Nigeria through Abuja’s international airport, reinforcing cooperation between the two countries despite heightened scrutiny of Nigeria’s internal violence.

For executives and investors, the message embedded in the $9 million spend is clear: Abuja believes Washington’s view of its security problem has become strategically decisive. The cost of losing U.S. goodwill – in intelligence sharing, military support, and diplomatic cover – is now judged to outweigh the political and financial risks of an unprecedented lobbying campaign.

Whether the effort succeeds will depend not just on messaging, but on whether conditions on the ground improve.