5 Things To Note About Lobbying

5 Things To Note About Lobbying

I was alarmed to see the magnitude of ignorance shown by most of those who commented on the thread that broke the news of PDP’s novel international lobbying effort. For starters, I think that the majority of those commentators (including @sarkki, @wristbangle and @corinthians) did not read the actual news, otherwise they would have known that it was a smart step in the right direction not just for the PDP but more importantly for Nigeria and Nigerians.

For those of us who don’t know it already, here are 5 things to know about international lobbying in the US.

1) International lobbying is a legal activity in the US.

In fact, it’s a solid part and parcel of the US politics. In any case, the US laws require international lobbyists to register their outfits prior to operation. The lobbyists are usually private entities and independent of public officials.

2. At least, 135 countries from around the world have hired US lobbyists at one time

Countries like South Korea, Japan, China, etc have spent hundreds of millions of dollars in their US lobbying efforts in the last one year alone. A significant portion of this expenditure come directly from the government of those countries. In fact, the government of South Korea has spent over $3 million this year already, whilst its non-government entities have collectively spent over $7million.

3. The essence of this lobby is usually to influence the US foreign policy and engagements

So, as stated in the original thread, the PDP is trying to influence the US foreign policy and engagements and make it work towards ensuring the stronger stability of the Nigerian democracy and political process. If they’d also tow this path as government, we’d probably enjoy smoother and more favorable outcomes from the US foreign policy and engagements in the coming years.

4. An international lobbying firm is not the same thing as a campaign strategy firm

I saw people trying to compare this current PDP move to what the APC did in preparation for the 2015 election. These are two different things. For staters, by hiring Obama’s former campaign consultant, APC was merely trying to help itself. But hiring a top US lobbying firm, the PDP is going the extra mile to help the entire nation. Please, kindly go back and read what the lobbying firm is supposed to do as stated in the news report.

5. INEC has already spent over $74,000 in US lobby efforts this year

Yes, it’s not only the PDP that use the services of a US lobbying firm. INEC is also doing that.