Pressure intensified on the President Bola Tinubu-led administration yesterday as the opposition, rights groups, anti-corruption organisations and the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) demanded independent investigations into the alleged Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) scandal, saying the controversy threatens confidence in governance and public accountability.
The controversy centres on allegations that the purported council secured office space, opened Central Bank of Nigeria accounts and received a budgetary allocation, alongside claims linking its leadership appointment to the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila.
Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, said the controversy reflects what he described as a pattern of scandals under the administration of President Bola Tinubu.
In a statement issued yesterday by his spokesman, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku argued that the controversies associated with the Tinubu administration could no longer be regarded as isolated incidents.
According to him, the President has become identified with the recurring controversies affecting his government.
“Nigeria has sadly arrived at that point. The issue is no longer one scandal or another. The issue is the pattern. And when scandals become a pattern of governance, the inevitable conclusion is this: you are no longer managing scandals; you have become the scandal itself,” he said.
Atiku described the PFIPC controversy as more than another embarrassment for the government, saying it represents the latest in a series of controversies that have characterised the present administration.
He said the PFIPC affair did not emerge in isolation but forms part of what he called a troubling sequence of unresolved issues.
“From unresolved questions surrounding the Humanitarian Affairs scandal to allegations of crude oil theft and illegal tanker releases that faded without publicly released investigative reports; from concerns raised over alleged discrepancies in the 2024 budget and the absence of a comprehensive forensic explanation; to the billions reportedly expended on refinery rehabilitation while public refineries remain largely dysfunctional; from procurement controversies involving major infrastructure projects to recurring concerns over opaque contract awards, missing procurement records and appointments of persons linked to unresolved allegations, Nigerians have watched a familiar and deeply troubling pattern unfold,” Atiku stated
Similarly, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) accused the Federal Government of demonstrating what it described as a troubling pattern of institutional failure following the controversy surrounding the alleged Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council.
In a statement issued yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, the Kabiru Turaki-led faction of the party said the allegations and the Presidency’s response have raised serious questions about governance and the integrity of public institutions under the current administration.
The PDP said the government’s explanation was as disturbing as the allegations levelled against senior officials, arguing that the administration has continued to exhibit institutional weaknesses.
According to the party, if the Presidency’s account of the incident is accurate, it points to a serious breakdown in government systems, as it would mean that an individual allegedly secured office space, staff, budgetary allocations, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) accounts and interacted with government agencies without detection.
The opposition party added that if the allegations made by Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi against the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, are eventually substantiated, they would amount to “yet another act of shameless corruption added to a long and growing queue of unchallenged corrupt officials in this administration.”
“Anyway this pendulum swings, the Nigerian people lose. Assuming that Nigerians were to accept the Presidency’s explanation at face value, the implications would be staggering. How could an impostor operate freely and undetected at the highest level of government?” the statement said.
