Tinubu Embodiment Of Transparency, Says APC Chieftain

An APC chieftain and South-East leader of the Tinubu Support Organisation (TSO), Dr George Agbakahi, has said that President Bola Tinubu, as a mark of transparency, submitted a presentation in respect of privacy acts to the appropriate authorities and has nothing to hide.

He dismissed Aaron Greenspan’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) litigation over US law-enforcement records concerning Tinubu as “mala fide” and “much ado about nothing.”

Agbakahi said Tinubu’s lawyers, in a 16-page response filed on 28th August, 2026, before the US District Court for the District of Columbia, urged the court to uphold FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) redactions and withholdings on the basis of privacy protections under US law. Every person enjoys a right to a reasonable expectation of privacy.

This was made known through a statement made available to newsmen in Owerri, Imo State.
According to him, the legal team relied principally on FOIA Exemption 7(C), which protects law-enforcement records where disclosure could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. The lawyers reportedly argued that FOIA is intended primarily to illuminate government operations, not to satisfy political curiosity about an individual’s background or “fitness for office.”

Agbakahi said the lawyers also relied on the US Supreme Court’s 1989 decision in Department of Justice v. Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, arguing that an individual’s privacy interest in government-held investigative files is not automatically extinguished merely because fragments of information may previously have entered the public domain.

He further disclosed that the FBI had asked the court to permit sensitive material to be filed under seal, citing concerns relating to personal privacy, confidential sources, law-enforcement techniques and threats to life or physical safety.

Dr Agbakahi maintained that the case should not be portrayed as a criminal proceeding against Tinubu. He stressed that Civil Action No. 23-1816 is a civil FOIA dispute concerning access to records held by US law-enforcement agencies and the applicability of statutory exemptions—not a criminal prosecution or judicial finding of wrongdoing against the Nigerian President.

He also pointed to a February 4, 2003, letter from the US Consulate in Lagos to then-Inspector-General of Police Tafa Balogun, which reportedly stated that an FBI records check had found no criminal arrest records or warrants for Tinubu, who was then Governor of Lagos State.

According to Agbakahi, the FBI and DEA have already released 399 pages of records, although portions remain redacted under various statutory exemptions covering matters including grand-jury proceedings, court-authorised pen-register or trap-and-trace information, attorney-client privilege, attorney work product, personal privacy, confidential sources and law-enforcement methods.

The APC chieftain accused Greenspan of attempting to turn the FOIA process into a political instrument, alleging links between the litigation and Nigerian opposition figures, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and journalist David Hundeyin. He argued that allegations of a US “cover-up conspiracy” remain unsupported by evidence.

He said the political significance attached to the litigation in Nigeria should not obscure its actual legal character: a dispute over whether US law permits the continued withholding of certain law-enforcement records. In his exact words, “I can categorically tell you that the FOIA is not a tool for obtaining information the government collected about private individuals.”

Agbakahi also accused opposition elements of attempting to manufacture a political scandal around allegations dating back roughly three decades, rather than engaging with what he described as the Tinubu administration’s record since 2023.

He cited ₦15.8 trillion in incremental revenue, $52.7 billion in external reserves, infrastructure projects across the six geopolitical zones and the establishment of the South East Development Commission as examples of what he described as the administration’s achievements.

“The opposition is trying to create a scandal where none exists because they have no record to run on,” he said, urging Nigerians to judge Tinubu on his record rather than on allegations that, he maintained, have never resulted in a criminal conviction or judicial finding of wrongdoing.

Agbakahi said the US court will ultimately determine whether the FBI and DEA may retain the disputed redactions and withholdings or whether additional records sought by Greenspan must be released.

He nevertheless maintained that the litigation itself establishes neither criminal liability nor wrongdoing on Tinubu’s part.

“This is not a scandal; it is a standard legal proceeding that the opposition is cynically exploiting,” Agbakahi said.

With the 2027 elections approaching, he urged Nigerians to focus on the administration’s performance rather than what he described as an unproven allegation from 30 years ago.

“The choice in 2027 is between consolidating the gains of the Tinubu administration or reversing them,” Agbakahi submitted.