PFIPC scandal: Atiku gives Tinubu seven-day ultimatum to order independent probe

Nigeria's former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has demanded a transparent and independent investigation into the alleged Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) scandal, giving President Bola Tinubu a seven-day ultimatum to act. Abubakar expressed concern that without such a probe, public suspicion will grow regarding the involvement of influential government figures in alleged fraud and a racket that may have victimized Nigerians seeking public sector appointments.

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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 Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, 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.

The controversy centers on the purported PFIPC, which the presidency has disavowed, labeling its alleged Director-General, Adeniyi Adeyemi, as an impostor facing criminal charges for forgery and impersonation. However, Abubakar argues that the presidency's explanation fails to address critical questions about how such an agency could allegedly operate within government facilities, hold meetings with foreign delegations, interact with institutions like the EFCC, and process salaries if it never existed.

"If the government wants Nigerians to believe that one man single-handedly created an office for himself... then that narrative raises even more troubling questions than it answers," Abubakar stated through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu. He suggested the situation might be an attempt to scapegoat one individual after an "internal arrangement went sour," emphasizing that the core issue is not just Adeyemi's alleged fraud but the systemic failures that allowed such an elaborate operation to proceed undetected through official channels.

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At this point, the story looks less like a clean explanation and more like an attempt to isolate one man after an internal arrangement went sour.

Abubakar stressed that the controversy transcends the actions of a single individual, highlighting the institutional processes that allegedly recognized and facilitated the operations of an agency the Presidency now claims never existed. He questioned the logistics of securing office space, processing official transactions, and engaging with government bodies for a non-existent entity, implying a deeper institutional failure or complicity within the current administration.

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Haba! Nigerians cannot be asked to swallow such a story whole.