I would avoid using silicone lubricants around the steering wheel as there are critical safety components in there. Silicone has very low surface energy and can wick up into just about anything. If it gets in between electrical contacts or into the strands it can create higher resistance and increase temperatures of the connection systems. If a fluke thermal event were to happen, then the silicone can degrade and turn into sand essentially and cause fretting corrosion or complete failure of the part.
I would give your best attempt to clean it first as there probably wasn't lubricant in there to begin with.
This is a post I made on the Outback Forum on this similar topic:
"This has happened to me and I used 99% Isopropyl Alcohol which is a very effective and safe electronics cleaner. I put it in a spray bottle, used 1 spray into the the button gap, and worked the button a few times and it immediately freed up. I made sure to let the car sit a few hours to allow excess solvent to evaporate before starting the car/turning on any power. You would be fine using 91% IPA which is more commonly found in stores, but I wouldn't recommend going going any lower concentration than that."
This was similar reasoning for the Subaru brake light recall a while ago:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/subaru-recalls-million-vehicles-brake-light-problem-forester-crosstrek-today-2019-03-02/