By Suleiman Anyalewechi
The opposition Coalition platform, the African Democratic Congress, ADC, has rejected moves by the President Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government to use the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission ICPC to investigate the festering Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council PFIPC scandal.
The party insisted on an independent probe , rather than an in-house arrangement ,to unravel the actual circumstances surrounding the scandal which it said has brought significant embarrassment to the nation.
The Source reports that the ADC’s position is coming against the backdrop of Tuesday’s presidential directive to the ICPC to investigate and submit its findings on the scandal especially those who may have officially enabled the Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi-led phantom PFIPC.
However ,in a statement from Bolaji Abdullahi, its National Publicity Secretary on Wednesday ,the ADC maintained that only an independent probe panel will be able to reasonably provide answers to the plethora of questions which has been thrown up by the scandal.
This is as the party warned against any ingenious attempts at turning the national scandal into a family affair or the actions of an individual.
The progenitor of the non-existent agency, Prince Adeyemi has directly accused the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajiabiamila, of being in the know of the activities of the agency as well as soliciting and receiving over N400 million in bribe through a proxy ,who has now been confirmed dead for the purpose of issuing him an appointment letter as the Director -General of the agency.
Adeyemi, also, in putting a lie to the Federal Government reference to him as a conman, disclosed that the agency, apart from being officially allotted an office space at the Federal Secretariat through the office of the Secretary to Government of the Federation SGF, also, received a waiver from the office of the Head of Service of the Federation for the engagement of no fewer than 300 take off staffers, as well as being generously accommodated in the 2026 Appropriation Act.
The ADC, in its statement, insisted that only an independent probe panel will be able to determine whether all the documents being brandished by Adeyemi in respect of the agency were forged and or are genuine.
The party expressed the fears that by handing the assignment for the probe of the scandal to an agency under its control ,the Presidency being an interested party, intends to keep the facts out of the public view.
“We therefore note that President Tinubu has now accepted the central argument advanced by the ADC ,that this matter requires an investigation ,and should not simply be explained away ,as his presidency had initially attempted to do.
“A presidency that is at the very heart of a historic scandal such as this does not have the credibility to authorise an investigation into a matter that has brought an entire country into disrepute.
“This is why the president should seize this moment as an opportunity to restore some credibility to his Government by allowing an independent inquiry made up of trusted citizens. A Government that is drowning in scandals cannot be trusted to investigate itself
“The presidency’s statement remains stubbornly presumptuous, appearing to have concluded that the appointment letters and other official documents were ” forged ” even before any investigation had started.
“Yet ,one of the central questions that the investigation is expected to determine is whether the appointment letters ,and other documents that Adeyemi relied on were genuinely issued as he has claimed or whether they were forged ,as the presidency has insisted.
“Therefore ,by anchoring the investigation on its own position, the Government would have effectively biased the entire process.
“Investigation must be allowed to independently determine whether the documents were forged, improperly issued, fraudulently obtained ,or lawfully issued under the authority of the presidency.
“The credibility of the entire exercise depends on allowing investigators to follow the evidence wherever it leads, rather than pre-determining the outcome through official pronouncement” the ADC stated.
The party similarly urged the President ,to as matter of honour and a demonstration of sincerity of purpose ask his Chief of Staff who has been mentioned as a central figure in the scandal to proceed on leave, pending the conclusion of Investigations into the matter.
“As long as he (Chief of Staff) remains an active official of Government ,it creates to get impression that the president is deliberately shielding a key party in this matter.
“It would also be difficult to convince anyone that the Chief of Staff would not use his powerful office to influence investigations in his favour” the party added.
The ADC called for the outcome of the investigation to also be made public in full, insisting that merely announcing the findings ,and or punishing a few expendable officials or scapegoats will not suffice.
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