Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, has formally requested that President Bola Tinubu remove his Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, from office. This call for suspension follows claims of a 400 million naira bribery scheme. Atiku issued this demand on Tuesday, emphasizing that a temporary removal is essential to facilitate an impartial probe into both the bribery accusations and irregularities found within the national budget.
These allegations were initially raised by Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, the Director General of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council. While Gbajabiamila has previously stated that this council is non-existent, Atiku countered this by noting that the government earmarked 27.4 billion naira for that specific entity in the 2026 budget. Atiku argued that this contradiction severely undermines the credibility of the Chief of Staff and casts doubt on the integrity of the nation’s financial planning.
The former Vice President warned the current administration against dismissing these concerns or using flimsy explanations to ignore potential fraud. He urged President Tinubu to value the rule of law above personal ties, insisting that his appointees must be held accountable. Atiku stressed that public trust requires transparency, stating that allocating over 27 billion naira to a phantom agency requires a thorough explanation rather than protection of political allies.
