Atiku Abubakar gives President Tinubu seven days to order an independent PFIPC investigation, citing concerns over budget approvals and accountability.
The controversy surrounding the alleged Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) has taken a fresh political turn after the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, called on President Bola Tinubu to immediately authorize an independent investigation into the matter.
In a strongly worded statement released on Friday through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the former vice president issued a seven-day ultimatum to the Presidency.
He argued that Nigerians deserve a transparent explanation regarding how an agency that government officials insist never officially existed allegedly carried out activities using public institutions and government processes.
According to Atiku, the controversy has moved far beyond allegations of forgery or impersonation.
He believes the issue has now become a major test of the credibility of Nigeria’s public institutions, especially those responsible for budgeting, civil service administration, and government oversight.
The opposition leader maintained that President Tinubu should direct a comprehensive, transparent, and independent inquiry into every aspect of the allegations.
He also urged that the outcome of such an investigation be made available to the public within seven days to restore confidence in government institutions.
Atiku warned that failure to launch a credible investigation would only increase public suspicion that influential individuals within government may have either benefited from the alleged activities or failed to stop them despite having the authority to do so.
He also expressed concern that unsuspecting Nigerians seeking employment or appointments into public service might have been exploited through an operation allegedly presented as an official government programme.
He questioned the explanation already provided by the Presidency through the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, saying the official response left more unanswered questions than reassuring answers.
According to Atiku, it is difficult to believe that one individual could independently establish an agency, obtain office accommodation within a government facility, interact with foreign diplomatic missions, process staff salaries through official channels, reportedly operate institutional financial accounts, and hold meetings with government agencies without attracting the attention of senior public officials.
He argued that such a scenario raises deeper institutional concerns than the government has acknowledged. In his view, if the allegations are accurate, then attention should not focus solely on the individual accused but also on the government systems that allegedly enabled the operation or failed to detect it.
The former vice president stated that if Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi is eventually found guilty of any wrongdoing, he should face the full weight of the law.
However, Atiku insisted that prosecuting one individual alone would not answer the broader questions surrounding the existence and operation of the alleged agency.
He asked how a supposedly fictitious government office could reportedly secure budgetary allocations, occupy office space within public facilities, engage with foreign delegations, interact with lawmakers and government officials, and allegedly receive media coverage without institutional approval or oversight.
According to him, Nigerians deserve answers that go beyond attributing the entire controversy to one person’s alleged misconduct.
He stressed that public institutions are designed with multiple layers of checks and approvals precisely to prevent such situations.
Atiku also referred to reports claiming that the PFIPC appeared in the 2026 Appropriation Act with a budget allocation worth several billions of naira.
In addition, he cited reports alleging that the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation approved the recruitment of more than 300 personnel into the agency.
He argued that these reported developments could not simply be dismissed as administrative errors because Nigeria’s budgeting and recruitment systems involve multiple stages of review before approvals are granted.
According to him, preparing the national budget requires contributions from ministries, departments, agencies, the Budget Office, and the National Assembly before receiving presidential assent.
Likewise, recruitment into the Federal Civil Service follows an established process involving manpower planning, financial clearances, establishment approvals, and salary structure verification.
Given these procedures, Atiku questioned how an agency reportedly described as non-existent could allegedly progress through several official stages without raising internal concerns among responsible government institutions.
He further argued that the situation has broader implications for public accountability and governance. According to him, if government institutions cannot explain how such an operation allegedly occurred, public confidence in the country’s administrative systems could be seriously affected.
Quoting celebrated Nigerian author Chinua Achebe, Atiku remarked that a person entrusted with carrying a basket of eggs cannot break them all and simply blame the road.
He used the analogy to suggest that responsibility should not rest entirely on one individual while institutions that allegedly failed in their oversight responsibilities escape scrutiny.
The former vice president also pointed to fresh public claims reportedly made by Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, who has denied any wrongdoing and alleged that influential individuals are attempting to silence him.
According to Atiku, those allegations further strengthen the need for an impartial investigation capable of separating facts from speculation.
He maintained that determining the credibility of Adeyemi’s claims should not be left to government press statements or political arguments.
Instead, he said investigators should carefully examine official documents, trace every approval, identify all officials who participated in relevant processes, and establish whether institutional failures occurred.
Atiku emphasized that the controversy now extends beyond one agency or one individual.
In his opinion, it raises fundamental questions about the integrity of Nigeria’s budgeting process, the credibility of the Federal Civil Service, the effectiveness of institutional oversight, and the Presidency’s responsibility for activities allegedly carried out under government authority.
He concluded that a prompt, independent, and transparent investigation remains the best way to reassure Nigerians that accountability exists within public institutions.
According to him, addressing the controversy openly would strengthen public trust and demonstrate that no individual or institution is above scrutiny.
The former vice president therefore urged President Tinubu to act without delay, insisting that silence or inaction would only deepen public doubts and prolong the controversy.
He maintained that only a credible investigation, conducted independently and with its findings released to the public, can resolve the questions surrounding the alleged PFIPC operations and restore confidence in the country’s governance systems.
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