Phantom council: Atiku gives Tinubu seven-day ultimatum over scandal

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar on Friday issued President Bola Tinubu a seven-day ultimatum to order an independent investigation into the alleged Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) scandal, warning that failure to act would deepen public suspicion of a cover-up.

Atiku said the controversy had moved beyond allegations of forgery to become a test of the credibility of Nigeria’s institutions, insisting that only a transparent and independent probe could restore public confidence.

In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the former vice president demanded that the President institute a comprehensive investigation within seven days and make the findings public.

He warned that any failure to do so would strengthen the belief that influential figures within government may have played a role in the alleged fraud or sought to shield those responsible.

“The President must order a comprehensive, independent investigation immediately. Anything short of that will amount to complicity by silence,” Atiku said.

He argued that the central issue was no longer whether documents were forged, but how an agency the Presidency insists never existed allegedly secured office space, processed official activities, engaged foreign missions and interacted with government institutions.
According to him, the explanation offered by the Presidency raised more questions than it answered.

“If the government wants Nigerians to believe that one man single-handedly created an office for himself, secured office space within a government facility, held meetings with foreign embassy delegations, paid courtesy visits to the EFCC, processed staff salaries through official channels, allegedly operated institutional accounts, and carried on all these activities without the knowledge, approval, negligence or collaboration of anyone within government, then that narrative raises even more troubling questions than it answers,” he said.

Atiku maintained that while the alleged mastermind, Adeniyi Adeyemi, should face prosecution if found culpable, Nigerians also deserved to know how the alleged operation navigated official budgetary, administrative and security structures without detection.

He cited reports that the PFIPC was included in the 2026 Appropriation Act with a multi-billion-naira allocation and that the Office of the Head of the Civil Service allegedly approved the recruitment of more than 300 personnel into the agency.

According to him, such developments could not be dismissed as administrative errors because they would ordinarily require multiple layers of government approvals.

Quoting the late author Chinua Achebe, Atiku said, “A man who has been asked to carry a basket of eggs does not break them all and then blame the road.”

He also said recent claims by Adeyemi denying wrongdoing and alleging that influential individuals were trying to silence him further underscored the need for an independent inquiry.

“Whether his claims are true or false is not for the Presidency to determine through press statements. That is precisely why Nigeria needs an independent investigation. Let the facts speak. Let every document be examined. Let every approval be traced. Let every official who acted, neglected a duty, or enabled this scandal be identified and held accountable,” he said.

Atiku maintained that the scandal now touched on the integrity of Nigeria’s budgeting process, the credibility of the civil service, institutional oversight and the Presidency’s accountability, insisting that President Tinubu must act within the seven-day deadline or risk reinforcing allegations of official complicity