PFIPC scandal: Atiku rejects ICPC probe, seeks independent panel

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has joined the chorus of criticism against the presidential directive for the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate the alleged Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) scandal. Abubakar insists that only an independent commission of inquiry can restore public confidence in the matter.

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If all of that is true, what exactly is the ICPC expected to spend another 30 days investigating?

Abubakar's stance, articulated through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, suggests that President Bola Tinubu's directive, issued days after a seven-day ultimatum demanding a probe, amounts to an admission of the inadequacy of previous police investigations. The former vice president pointed to the presidency's earlier claims that the matter had been comprehensively investigated by the police, leading to an arrest, document recovery, and the filing of criminal charges.

"If all of that is true, what exactly is the ICPC expected to spend another 30 days investigating?" Abubakar questioned. He further stated, "If the police investigation was comprehensive, another investigation is unnecessary. If another investigation has become necessary, then the inevitable conclusion is that the earlier investigation was insufficient. The president cannot simultaneously maintain both positions without contradicting his own government."

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If the police investigation was comprehensive, another investigation is unnecessary. If another investigation has become necessary, then the inevitable conclusion is that the earlier investigation was insufficient. The president cannot simultaneously maintain both positions without contradicting his own government.

The presidency had directed the ICPC to investigate the activities surrounding the alleged PFIPC following reports of individuals operating under the guise of a presidential intervention body. However, Abubakar contended that the President's instruction to investigate the "wider circumstances" undermines the government's initial narrative that the incident involved only one individual impersonating officials. "That directive is, in itself, a repudiation of the earlier narrative that this was merely the handiwork of one alleged impostor," he stated. The core issue, according to Abubakar, is not just document forgery but how an organization the presidency denies exists could allegedly secure office space, interact with government institutions, seek diplomatic recognition, conduct recruitment, operate multiple bank accounts, and project governmental authority over an extended period.

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That directive is, in itself, a repudiation of the earlier narrative that this was merely the handiwork of one alleged impostor.