Suspend Gbajabiamila before ICPC probes PFIPC, Atiku’s aide tells Tinubu

Paul Ibe, media adviser to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has called for the suspension of Femi Gbajabiamila, the Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, pending the outcome of an investigation into the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC).

Ibe stated on Tuesday that President Tinubu's directive for the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate the PFIPC, without first suspending implicated officials, is "flagrantly wrong." He argued that allowing key suspects, including Gbajabiamila, to remain in office while the investigation proceeds creates an opportunity for them to interfere with the process, effectively making them "a judge in their own case."

The PFIPC has become a focal point of controversy following allegations by Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, who claims to be the council's Director-General. Adeyemi alleged he paid N600 million, including N400 million through proxies, to secure his position and accused Gbajabiamila of demanding 48 percent of the agency's take-off grant.

Despite the Presidency's dismissal of Adeyemi as an impostor and insistence that the PFIPC is a fictitious body without legal basis or presidential approval, questions persist. These include how the council allegedly secured a N1.3 billion budgetary allocation in the 2026 Appropriation Act and opened accounts with the Central Bank of Nigeria. Ibe's call for suspension echoes similar demands from other groups, including the Nigeria Democratic Congress and former Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Solomon Dalung.

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Not suspending all those involved in the #GbajaGate scandal is akin to them being a judge in their own case. Their continued stay in office while the investigation is going on, gives them the opportunity to interfere with the investigation process.