By Tekena Amieyeofori
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has alleged that the Federal Government is trying to shield officials linked to the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) from accountability.
In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku described the arrest of the self-acclaimed Director-General of PFIPC, Adeniyi Adeyemi, as a move allegedly orchestrated to obtain statements that would be used to inculpate opposition figures instead of revealing the full facts of the scandal.
The status of PFIPC has been mired in controversy lately. Adeyemi has also been trading blame with Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, over issues relating to the scandal. On Tuesday, Adeyemi was arrested in connection with the PFIPC, which the government says does not exist.
Atiku said the issue should not be limited to Adeyemi’s alleged misconduct. According to him, the bigger concern is how an organisation the Presidency has disowned allegedly gained access to the top levels of government, secured diplomatic recognition and accreditation, employed over 300 staff, obtained office space at the federal Secretariat, and was reportedly given ₦1.3 billion in the 2026 Appropriation Act.
He said, “The scandal is not merely that one man allegedly impersonated public authority. The greater scandal is that the Tinubu administration allegedly opened the doors of the Nigerian state to him, allowed him to acquire the appearance and privileges of official legitimacy and permitted him to interact with institutions and diplomatic interests in the name of the Federal Government.”
Atiku, who is also candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in the 2027 presidential election, said the PFIPC matter reveals “mind-boggling profligacy and questionable appropriations” in the 2026 federal budget.
In the statement, the former vice-president also raised concern over the alleged allocation of ₦6.44 billion for a ‘Special Presidential Support Group for the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers’, despite Nigeria’s elimination from the qualifiers in November 2025, about a month before the 2026 budget was presented to and considered by the National Assembly.
“How does a serious government budget ₦6.44 billion for presidential support for World Cup qualifiers after the country had already been eliminated?
“What competition was the money intended to support? Who inserted the provision, who approved it and who was expected to benefit from an expenditure whose stated purpose had already ceased to exist?” Atiku queried.
Furthermore, he noted that “The Tinubu administration has a peculiar proclivity for propaganda, and we are reliably informed that there are plans to twist the facts of the PFIPC scandal, absolve those within the government who ought to answer questions and manufacture a politically convenient story against the opposition.”
The NDC presidential candidate restated his call for an independent investigation, arguing that an administration with senior officials mentioned in the controversy cannot credibly investigate itself in private.
“The probe ordered by President Tinubu and assigned to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) is insufficient, self-serving and incapable of inspiring public confidence in the government’s claim of innocence.
“An impartial investigation into this scandal is now a direct test of President Tinubu’s integrity and commitment to accountability, particularly because the allegations reach into the heart of his administration.
“A compromised process in which the government interrogates suspects in secrecy, suppresses inconvenient facts and later emerges with a contrived narrative blaming the opposition would be a pathetic assault on truth and a further demolition of the credibility of the Tinubu administration.
“Finally, this is precisely why we demanded an independent investigation from the very beginning.
“If not a government consumed by confusion and emboldened by impunity, how does the executive order a sweeping fresh investigation into matters that are already before a court of competent jurisdiction?
“Such conduct is not only reckless; it raises legitimate concerns about an attempt to control the narrative and undermine the integrity of the judicial process.”
Atiku said Nigerians deserve the full truth about the PFIPC affair and urged the National Assembly to immediately set up an independent panel to investigate all aspects of the controversy.