Leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has engaged a new American lobbying firm to help the group win the support of the U.S. government.
The one-year deal is slated to run for 12 months and is costing Mr. Kanu and IPOB $750,000, which is over N300 million at the current official exchange rate of N410 to one U.S. dollar.
PREMIUM TIMES is in possession of the contract papers which Mr Kanu signed with the BW Global Group (BWGG LLC), in February.
The firm, co-owned by Jeffrey Birrel and Alan White, is registered in Washington D.C, the U.S. capital, which has a high concentration of top government officials, lawmakers, policymakers, and opinion leaders, who IPOB is trying to engage on the rightfulness and necessity of its cause.
The agreement, which took effect from March 1, 2021, came months after an earlier one struck by Mr Kanu with another U.S.-based lobbying entity, Mercury Public Affairs LLC, expired.
Under the old contract, IPOB, through Mazi Kanu, paid $85,000 per month beginning September 23, 2019, in addition to a $5,000 one-time compliance fee.
That means Mr Kanu paid $1,025,000 for the 12-month contract, which is approximately N400million, based on the prevailing official exchange rate at the time (N380 to a dollar).
In June last year, the Nigerian Government fumed at the deal, which it claimed was aimed at discrediting the country in the U.S. and Europe.
