ADC Demands Independent Judicial Inquiry into Alleged PFIPC Scandal
By Gabriel Kekong
Abuja (Core Reporters) The African Democratic Congress (ADC) said it has closely followed the controversy surrounding the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) and the allegations of bribery involving the President’s Chief of Staff, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila.
In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, on Friday, July 3, the party said the issues raised strike at the core of national governance and institutional integrity and therefore require a thorough, independent investigation.
The ADC said it had also reviewed the July 1 statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, describing it as the APC-led government’s official response to the controversy. According to the party, rather than addressing the substantive allegations, the statement raised further questions and exposed what it described as deep institutional decay within the Tinubu administration.
The major opposition party argued that the Presidency’s focus on defending the Chief of Staff, while failing to explain how an organisation it now describes as “fictitious” allegedly operated across several arms of government, suggests either complicity or incompetence.
According to the ADC, the Presidency’s own account indicated that PFIPC allegedly interacted with ministries, public institutions, foreign diplomats and other government agencies, raising serious concerns about governance, accountability and national security.
The party called for investigations into at least ten institutions and individuals, including the Office of the Chief of Staff, Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, the Budget Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Office of the National Security Adviser, the Department of State Services (DSS), the Nigeria Police Force, the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and relevant committees of the National Assembly.
ADC specifically urged investigators to determine how official documents bearing the authority of the Chief of Staff’s office were allegedly issued, examine claims of bribery involving Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, establish whether recruitment waivers and budgetary allocations were legitimately approved, and ascertain the extent of PFIPC’s engagements with government institutions and foreign diplomats.
The party called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to immediately establish an independent Judicial Commission of Inquiry with powers to summon witnesses, compel the production of documents, and determine whether any public officials engaged in negligence, misconduct, collusion, abuse of office or criminal wrongdoing.
The ADC argued that if PFIPC was indeed a fictitious organisation, Nigerians deserve to know how it allegedly secured recruitment approvals, budgetary allocations, official correspondence, diplomatic engagements and recognition across multiple government institutions. Conversely, it said that if the organisation was legitimate, the government must explain why it has publicly disowned it.
The party maintained that the matter cannot be resolved through press statements, selective denials or criminal prosecutions alone, insisting that only an independent judicial inquiry can establish the facts and restore public confidence in public institutions.
The statement also criticised what it described as a double standard in the government’s response to corruption allegations, noting that security and anti-corruption agencies were swiftly deployed over allegations involving former Kaduna State Governor Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, while no similar action has been taken against the President’s Chief of Staff.
According to the ADC, this disparity undermines public confidence and reinforces the perception that different standards of accountability apply to political opponents and members of the ruling establishment.
The party warned that if the Tinubu administration fails to investigate the matter transparently, the PFIPC scandal will become one of the first accountability priorities of an ADC-led government. It vowed that all approvals, budgetary allocations, official correspondence, financial transactions and public officials connected to the affair would be subjected to scrutiny, adding that anyone found to have abused public office or violated the law would be prosecuted without exception.
