PFIPC Probe: Atiku Tells Tinubu to Apologise or Resign Over Accountability Crisis

Former Vice President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate for the 2027 election, Atiku Abubakar, has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to apologise to Nigerians and resign over what he described as a deepening crisis of public accountability arising from the controversy surrounding the disputed Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC).

Atiku, in a statement issued on Wednesday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, said revelations emerging from the ongoing House of Representatives investigation into the alleged council had exposed what he described as serious contradictions within key institutions of the Federal Government.

The former vice president's comments followed testimony by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) before the House of Representatives ad hoc committee investigating the PFIPC controversy.

The CBN had told the committee that it opened two domiciliary accounts for the disputed council, one in United States dollars and another in pounds sterling, following a mandate from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF).

The apex bank, however, said the accounts remained inactive, with no inflows or outflows recorded, because the necessary authorised signatories and approving officers were never presented to the bank.

The development has become a major element of the wider PFIPC controversy, which has also raised questions about how the disputed entity appeared in the 2026 Appropriation Act with an allocation of N1.3 billion, despite the Presidency's position that the council does not exist as a legitimate government agency.

Atiku argued that the CBN's testimony contradicted earlier explanations attributed to the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation regarding the disputed accounts.

He said the conflicting positions had further complicated the controversy and raised broader questions about the accountability of government institutions.

According to Atiku, the CBN's testimony “fundamentally contradicts the narrative earlier advanced by the Office of the Accountant-General,” describing the situation as one of the most serious credibility challenges facing the administration.

“This is where the cover-up appears to begin. One institution denied authorising the opening of the PFIPC accounts and alleged forgery. Another, before the representatives of the Nigerian people, stated that the accounts were opened on the directive of the Accountant-General after due process was followed. Both accounts cannot be true,” Atiku said.

The former vice president said the conflicting accounts required an independent investigation capable of establishing the facts and identifying the officials responsible for any wrongdoing, if established.

He argued that the President could not remain silent while different arms of government offered apparently conflicting explanations concerning the same matter.

“When two of your most sensitive financial and monetary authorities publicly contradict each other on the same transaction, no serious leader needs a clairvoyant to know that his administration is trapped in a web of deception and a profound crisis of credibility,” he said.

“The President cannot continue to watch from the sidelines while his government tears itself apart with conflicting narratives.”

Atiku challenges Tinubu to clarify position

Atiku challenged President Tinubu to state which of the competing accounts he accepted and to explain why no independent investigation had yet been ordered to conclusively resolve the matter.

“President Tinubu must answer a simple question: Which version does he believe, the Accountant-General’s or the Central Bank’s?” Atiku asked.

He added that if the President did not accept either account, he should direct an independent investigation to determine what actually happened.

According to Atiku, continued delays in resolving the controversy could further fuel public suspicion and undermine confidence in government institutions.

“If he believes neither, why has he not acted? Every day he delays ordering a truly independent investigation, he deepens public suspicion that preserving his administration’s image has taken precedence over establishing the truth,” he said.

The former vice president also criticised what he described as the silence of the Attorney-General of the Federation, saying the nation's chief law officer should be providing clarity on the legal and institutional dimensions of the controversy.

He argued that the absence of clear answers had contributed to the perception that the administration was more concerned about managing the political consequences of the scandal than uncovering the full facts.

Atiku urged the National Assembly to summon the Accountant-General of the Federation and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria to appear jointly before the investigative committee.

He said both officials should testify under oath to enable lawmakers and Nigerians establish a clear account of how the disputed PFIPC accounts were opened, who authorised them and why the accounts remained inactive.

“The PFIPC scandal has ceased to be merely about disputed accounts. It has become a referendum on President Tinubu’s integrity and competence,” he said.

Atiku further questioned how an entity whose existence has been disputed by the Presidency could have become linked to a federal budget allocation and had accounts opened at the apex bank.

He said the controversy raised wider concerns about institutional checks and balances, oversight and the ability of government agencies to detect and prevent irregularities.

“If a single individual could allegedly orchestrate a scheme that has thrown two of Nigeria’s most critical financial and monetary authorities into public contradiction, Nigerians are entitled to ask how many other abuses may have escaped detection because of weak oversight and institutional failure,” he said.

The PFIPC controversy began after Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, who presented himself as the Director-General of the purported council, came under scrutiny over the organisation's status and operations.

The Presidency has disowned the council and accused Adeyemi of allegedly forging an appointment letter purportedly linked to the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila. Adeyemi has reportedly denied wrongdoing and maintained his claims about his appointment.

The controversy has since expanded to include questions about the council's alleged appearance in the 2026 budget, its purported engagement with government institutions, and the opening of the two domiciliary accounts at the CBN.

The House of Representatives ad hoc committee is continuing its investigation, with several government ministries, departments and agencies being questioned over their interactions or lack of official interactions with the disputed council.

The committee has also summoned senior government officials to explain how the entity was able to operate and engage with public institutions despite questions over its legal status.

Atiku said the controversy had reached a point where President Tinubu must take responsibility for what he described as a failure of public accountability under his administration.

“President Tinubu owes Nigerians an unreserved apology for presiding over this unprecedented collapse of public accountability,” he said.

He maintained that the President should immediately restore public confidence by ordering an independent investigation and ensuring that anyone found culpable is held accountable in accordance with the law.

Atiku concluded his statement with a direct call for the President to leave office if he could not provide satisfactory answers and restore confidence in the government's handling of the matter.

“If he cannot immediately restore public confidence through a genuinely independent investigation and ensure that everyone responsible is held to account, then he has forfeited the moral authority to continue in office,” he said.

“The honourable course is simple: apologise to Nigerians and resign.”

The House of Representatives investigation into the PFIPC controversy is ongoing, and the competing accounts presented by government institutions are expected to come under further scrutiny as lawmakers continue their hearings.