Atiku Abubakar, the ADC presidential candidate, has issued a seven-day deadline for President Bola Tinubu to launch a transparent and independent inquiry into the PFIPC scandal. Through his aide, Phrank Shaibu, the former vice president warned that inaction would reinforce public beliefs that influential government figures are protecting those involved in the fraud.
The controversy centers on Adeniyi Adeyemi, who allegedly established a fake government agency, secured office space, met with diplomats, and even processed staff salaries through official channels. Atiku dismissed the Presidency’s explanation provided by Bayo Onanuga, arguing it is implausible that a single individual could navigate budgetary, security, and administrative systems without internal collusion.
Pointing to records in the 2026 Appropriation Act and reports of civil service recruitment for the bogus agency, Atiku asserted that such processes involve too many government layers to occur by accident. He urged the President to stop scapegoating an individual and instead account for the systemic failures that allowed the scheme to flourish. Without a formal, independent investigation, Atiku maintained that the administration remains complicit in the affair.
