Nigeria's Tinubu administration plagued by scandals, says presidential aide

Phrank Shaibu, a senior special assistant to Nigeria's former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has strongly criticized the administration of President Bola Tinubu, arguing that a persistent pattern of scandals has become a defining characteristic of the government.

Shaibu stated that Nigeria has reached a point where scandals are no longer isolated incidents but recurring features of governance. "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 asserted in a statement released in Abuja. He challenged President Tinubu to provide a full disclosure of his age and educational and family background, issues that have been subjects of litigation for years.

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When scandals become a pattern of governance, the inevitable conclusion is this: you are no longer managing scandals; you have become the scandal itself.

The presidential aide specifically pointed to the controversy surrounding the purported Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) as the latest in a series of scandals that have plagued the Tinubu administration. He noted that investigations are often announced with fanfare, but the truth frequently disappears into official silence. Shaibu highlighted the suspension of a former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs over alleged financial impropriety, stating that despite promises of accountability and publicized recoveries, a comprehensive public account of what transpired remains elusive.

Furthermore, Shaibu referenced persistent questions surrounding transparency and financial disclosures within the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), which have also remained unresolved despite calls for greater openness. He concluded that the PFIPC affair is part of a troubling sequence of controversies, including allegations of crude oil theft and illegal tanker releases, that have cast long shadows over the current administration without publicly released investigative reports.

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Investigations were announced, recoveries publicised, and assurances given, yet Nigerians are still waiting for a comprehensive public account of what transpired, who was held responsible, and what institutional safeguards were erected to prevent a recurrence.