馃嚦馃嚞NigeriaWest Africa
Atiku's aide criticizes Tinubu's directive on foreign investment council probe without Gbajabiamila's suspension
via Punch Nigeria1 min read
Paul Ibe, Media Adviser to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has criticized President Bola Tinubu's instruction to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission ICPC to investigate the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council PFIPC without first suspending officials implicated in the matter. Ibe stated on X that it was "flagrantly wrong" for Tinubu to order the probe without suspending key suspects, including his Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, pending the investigation's conclusion. He argued that their continued presence in office could allow them to interfere with the investigation. President Tinubu had previously directed the ICPC to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the PFIPC, which the Presidency has labeled a fictitious body lacking legal basis or presidential approval, setting a 30-day deadline for the report. The controversy surrounding the PFIPC escalated after Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, claiming to be its Director-General, alleged he paid N600m to secure the position and accused Gbajabiamila of demanding 48 percent of the agency's take-off grant. The Presidency has dismissed Adeyemi as an impostor and maintains the PFIPC does not exist, despite questions about its alleged N1.3bn budgetary allocation in the 2026 Appropriation Act and accounts with the Central Bank of Nigeria. Ibe's call aligns with similar demands from the Nigeria Democratic Congress and former Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Solomon
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