Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has given President Bola Tinubu seven days to order a transparent, comprehensive and independent investigation into the scandal involving the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC).
He warned that failing to do so would fuel public suspicion that powerful people in government benefited from the alleged fraud.
In a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the former vice president said the issue had gone beyond forgery claims and had become a crisis of public trust. He added that many Nigerians seeking public sector jobs may have been deceived through a scheme that allegedly enjoyed official protection.
Atiku said the Presidency’s explanation through Bayo Onanuga raised more questions than answers. He questioned how one man could allegedly create an office, get space inside a government facility, meet foreign embassy delegations, pay courtesy visits to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and process staff salaries through official channels without anyone in government knowing.
“If the government wants Nigerians to believe that one man single-handedly created an office for himself, secured office space within a government facility, held meetings with foreign embassy delegations, paid courtesy visits to the EFCC, processed staff salaries through official channels, allegedly operated institutional accounts, and carried on all these activities without the knowledge, approval, negligence or collaboration of anyone within government, then that narrative raises even more troubling questions than it answers,” he said.
He said Adeniyi Adeyemi, who is at the centre of the scandal, should face the law if he committed fraud. But he asked how such an operation could pass through budget, administrative, security and government systems without being detected. “Haba. Nigerians cannot be asked to swallow such a story whole,” he said.
Atiku also said reports showed the PFIPC was included in the 2026 Appropriation Act with a budget running into billions of naira, while fresh reports claimed the Office of the Head of the Civil Service approved the recruitment of more than 300 workers into the agency.
Quoting Chinua Achebe, he said the Presidency should stop blaming one man without explaining how government systems allowed the alleged scandal. He added that Prince Adeyemi’s denial and claim that powerful figures were trying to silence him made an independent probe even more necessary.
“Nigeria deserves the truth. Quietly investigating the matter and addressing the lapses would have been better than publicly presenting a story that collapses under its own contradictions. The President must order a comprehensive, independent investigation immediately. Anything short of that will amount to complicity by silence,” he said.
