Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has given President Bola Tinubu a seven-day ultimatum to order a transparent, comprehensive and independent investigation into the controversy surrounding the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), warning that failure to do so would deepen public suspicion that powerful interests within government benefited from the alleged fraud.
Speaking through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the former Vice President said the matter had moved beyond allegations of forgery into what he described as a crisis of institutional credibility, with indications that individuals may have exploited public systems to defraud unsuspecting Nigerians seeking government appointments.
Atiku said the Presidency’s explanation through Bayo Onanuga failed to resolve key contradictions, instead raising further questions about how a single individual could allegedly create and operate an office within government structures — including securing office space in a government facility, engaging with foreign embassy delegations, visiting the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and processing salaries through official channels — without the knowledge or approval of relevant authorities.
“If the government expects 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, and allegedly operated institutional accounts 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 stressed that while Adeyemi — the central figure in the controversy — must face the law if found guilty of fraud, the more pressing issue is how such an extensive operation could pass through budgetary, administrative, and security systems undetected. “Nigerians cannot be expected to accept such explanations without scrutiny,” he said.
Atiku argued that the case could not be reduced to questions of individual misconduct alone, noting that institutional processes appeared to have been engaged. He questioned whether personal influence alone could have secured budgetary allocations, office accommodation, meetings with foreign delegations and interactions with public officials. “At some point, we must separate alleged individual conduct from the institutional systems that enabled it or failed to detect it,” he said.
He noted that reports suggesting the PFIPC was included in the 2026 Appropriation Act with multi-billion-naira allocations, as well as claims that the Office of the Head of the Civil Service approved the recruitment of over 300 staff, had significantly escalated the matter.
According to him, both budgetary appropriations and civil service recruitment involve structured, multi-layered processes that cannot occur without institutional oversight.
Quoting Chinua Achebe, Atiku said a man tasked with carrying a basket of eggs cannot break them all and blame the road, insisting that the Presidency must not shift responsibility onto a single individual while avoiding scrutiny of systemic failures.
He added that the intervention of Prince Adeyemi, who has denied the allegations and claimed he is being targeted by powerful interests, made an independent investigation even more urgent. He said only a full probe — not official statements — could establish the truth.
“Nigeria deserves the truth. Quietly addressing the lapses would have been better than presenting a narrative that collapses under scrutiny. The President must order a comprehensive, independent investigation immediately. Anything short of that will amount to complicity by silence,” he said.
