Atiku demands investigation into Gbajabiamila-Adeyemi scandal, criticizes NASS

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has urged the federal government to start an independent investigation into the controversy around the supposed Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC).

Atiku, who is the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) for the 2027 election, said Nigerians have the right to know if Adeniyi Adeyemi, accused of forging government appointment letters and pretending to be the director-general of the alleged agency, acted alone or had help from government officials.

He made this statement in a release on Thursday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu.

"Something is fundamentally wrong within the machinery of this administration. Nigerians deserve the whole truth, not carefully scripted press statements. We therefore demand a truly independent investigation that follows the evidence wherever it leads. No sacred cows. No political protection. No selective justice," he said.

The presidency has accused Mr Adeyemi of forging government appointment letters and other documents, and of claiming to be the director-general of the PFIPC and PEAC, agencies that the presidency insists do not exist.

In a statement on Wednesday, presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga said police had charged Mr Adeyemi and two others with eight counts in the Federal High Court. He noted that the case, filed on 27 November 2025, is set for a hearing on 27 July.

Mr Onanuga added that worries about the fake agency came up after officials of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) reported that another body seemed to be doing similar work.

He noted that Femi Gbajabiamila, the chief of staff to President Bola Tinubu, wrote to the State Security Service (SSS, also known as the DSS) and the Nigeria Police Force on 17 October 2025, asking for an investigation into Mr Adeyemi and his associates.

In the petition, Mr Gbajabiamila claimed that appointment letters supposedly issued from his office had fake signatures, seals, and reference numbers, which were used to claim jobs in non-existent government agencies.

But Mr Adeyemi, who has gone into hiding, told PREMIUM TIMES earlier on Thursday that he did not forge any appointment letters. He said the government's claims were a way to silence him. He also insisted that the agency was created in 2024 and claimed his life was in danger.

Since the allegation became known, it has stirred controversy, especially because ₦1.3 billion was budgeted for the PFIPC in the 2026 Appropriation Act, even though the presidency claims the agency does not exist.

Atiku questioned how money could be budgeted for an agency the presidency insists is fake. He also criticized the National Assembly for not properly checking the budget, saying the agency should not have been included at all if it was not real.

"On one hand, it insists that the PFIPC never existed and was nothing more than an elaborate scam. On the other hand, public records reportedly reveal that approximately ₦1.3 billion was appropriated for that very council in the 2026 Appropriation Act, listed alongside the Presidential Economic Advisory Council.

"This contradiction is too monumental to ignore. If the agency was fictitious, who prepared the budget estimates bearing its name? Which ministry submitted them? Which officials defended those estimates before the National Assembly? Which committees scrutinized them? Which lawmakers approved them? Who inserted the allocation into the Appropriation Bill? And ultimately, who signed that budget into law?" he said.

The former vice president said the situation shows the National Assembly’s failure to effectively oversee the executive. "The National Assembly stands thoroughly exposed. Billions of naira allegedly found their way into the national budget for an agency the presidency now claims never existed, yet lawmakers neither detected the anomaly nor demanded explanations. That is not oversight; it is legislative abdication."

Atiku also questioned the Central Bank of Nigeria, saying Nigerians deserve to know how a supposedly non-existent agency could have bank accounts.

"The Central Bank of Nigeria cannot escape scrutiny either. Nigerians deserve to know how an alleged fictitious agency reportedly managed financial processes that ordinary businesses struggle to complete. If regulatory safeguards exist only on paper, then the integrity of our financial institutions is itself under serious question," he stated.

The presidential candidate further criticized the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), accusing the anti-graft agency of being biased. "The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has also been exposed by its selective zeal. An agency established to combat corruption appears increasingly consumed with pursuing opposition figures while exhibiting remarkable hesitation whenever allegations point towards the corridors of power. Anti-corruption loses all credibility when it becomes selective prosecution," he said.