Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has demanded that the Presidency publicly name the insiders allegedly connected to the fake Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) scandal, describing the interim report of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) on the matter as a "whitewash" that raises more questions than answers. In a statement issued on Friday, August 7, 2026, by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the former Vice President said the Presidency cannot parade the report as an exoneration when the same report reportedly acknowledges "negligence and connivance" within government processes that enabled the alleged fraud.
Atiku noted that the ICPC's findings revealed that one individual allegedly forged a presidential appointment letter, created a fictitious federal agency, appropriated offices and instruments of the former Presidential Economic Advisory Council, opened bank accounts using forged legislative instruments, engaged in widespread impersonation, and created two additional fictitious government agencies. Yet, he said, Nigerians are being told that State House systems were "above board"—claims he said cannot comfortably coexist. "If there was connivance, who connived? If public officers were negligent, who are they? Who granted access to government offices? Who recognised this supposed Director-General? Who enabled him to operate within the machinery of government?" Atiku asked.
The ADC presidential candidate maintained that the ICPC's reported recommendation of sanctions against public officers whose negligence facilitated the operation demolishes any attempt to portray the scandal as the work of a lone impostor. "A fake agency does not walk into government offices by itself. A forged appointment letter does not validate itself. Bank accounts do not open themselves. Behind every door that opened, every process that was bypassed and every official instrument that was accessed was a human being. Name them," he declared. Atiku argued that the interim report, rather than exposing the truth, appears to shield the identities of "shadow operatives within the presidency" who allegedly connived to enable the fraud, adding that their identities should be made public and their roles fully explained.
Atiku said the ultimate test of the government's sincerity is openness, particularly now that the central figure in the saga, Adeniyi Matthew Adeyemi, has publicly challenged the government by asking to appear before a National Assembly investigation broadcast live on national television. "The Presidency now has nowhere left to hide. If Mr Adeyemi is prepared to appear publicly, testify under oath, and answer questions before Nigerians, then let him be heard," Atiku said. He called on the National Assembly to immediately institute an open, live-broadcast public hearing into the scandal, insisting that if the Villa is truly clean, it should be the first to welcome live television coverage. "Let Nigerians watch, unedited, as the witnesses testify, and the evidence is presented under oath. What is the presidency afraid of?" he queried.
Atiku demanded the publication of the full ICPC report and the identities of every public official found culpable, insisting that only an independent and transparent inquiry can dispel legitimate suspicions of an attempt to protect politically exposed persons or officials within the Presidency who enabled the fraud. "You cannot admit negligence and connivance within government and simultaneously pronounce the system spotless. That is like washing charcoal and expecting white water," he said. The PFIPC scandal, which the Presidency has publicly disowned, has exposed significant vulnerabilities in Nigeria's public service system, where forged documents and counterfeit correspondence were able to secure official recognition, government accommodation, and a multi-billion naira budget allocation. The ICPC had earlier submitted its interim report to President Bola Tinubu on Thursday, August 6, recommending the prosecution of Adeyemi and identifying lapses in several Ministries, Departments and Agencies, including the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, the Budget Office of the Federation, and the National Information Technology Development Agency. However, Atiku has made it clear that the investigation cannot end with the prosecution of one individual, insisting that the full truth must be uncovered and all those responsible, regardless of their rank or political connections, must be held accountable.
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