Former Vice President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has called for an independent investigation into the controversy surrounding the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), alleging that the Bola Tinubu administration is attempting to manipulate the narrative, shield government officials from scrutiny, and shift blame to the political opposition.
In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku described the recent arrest of the self-styled Director-General of the PFIPC, Adeniyi Adeyemi, as a calculated move allegedly aimed at extracting statements that could be used to implicate opposition figures rather than uncover the full truth behind the scandal.

According to Atiku, the controversy extends far beyond the alleged actions of Adeyemi.
He questioned how an organisation the Presidency now describes as fictitious allegedly gained access to the highest levels of government, secured diplomatic recognition and accreditation, recruited more than 300 personnel, obtained office accommodation at the National Secretariat, and reportedly received budgetary allocations, including an alleged ₦1.3 billion provision in the 2026 Appropriation Act.

He argued that such extensive operations could not have occurred without either official collaboration or a major failure of oversight across several government institutions.
“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 said.

The former vice president also linked the PFIPC controversy to what he described as questionable provisions in the 2026 federal budget.
He specifically questioned the allocation of ₦6.44 billion for a “Special Presidential Support Group for the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers,” despite Nigeria having been eliminated from the qualification race in November 2025, about a month before the 2026 budget was presented to 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?” he queried.
Atiku described the allocation as a serious indictment of the integrity of the budgeting process, alleging that it reinforced public concerns that the national budget had become a vehicle for wasteful and unjustifiable expenditures.

Adeyemi is facing allegations of forgery, impersonation and obtaining money by false pretences. He has also publicly alleged that he paid about ₦400 million in bribes to secure the position and mentioned senior government officials, including the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila.
Atiku stressed that these allegations require an independent, transparent and impartial investigation.

He further argued that the PFIPC scandal had become an international embarrassment for Nigeria and warned against what he described as attempts to suppress the matter, likening it to other unresolved controversies, including the Humanitarian Affairs Ministry scandal, refinery rehabilitation spending and disputed budgetary allocations.
“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,” he alleged.

Atiku maintained that the investigation ordered by President Tinubu and assigned to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) could not inspire public confidence because officials within the administration had been mentioned in the allegations.
“The probe ordered by President Tinubu and assigned to the ICPC is insufficient, self-serving and incapable of inspiring public confidence in the government’s claim of innocence,” he said.

He called on the National Assembly to establish an independent bipartisan panel to investigate every aspect of the PFIPC controversy and urged the Nigerian Bar Association, civil society organisations, the diplomatic community and other stakeholders to resist any attempt to cover up the matter.
“Nigerians deserve to know who authorised the PFIPC, who facilitated its access to public institutions, who secured its office accommodation, who obtained diplomatic recognition for it, who inserted funds for it in the national budget and who benefited from its operations. Nigerians deserve the truth—not another carefully scripted public relations exercise,” Atiku said.