The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has officially requested that President Bola Tinubu immediately remove his Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, from his position. This demand follows serious accusations involving a questionable entity known as the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC).
Osa Director, the National Publicity Secretary for the NDC, released a statement on Friday suggesting that the Chief of Staff should be suspended to facilitate an impartial probe. The opposition party alleges that Gbajabiamila collaborated with Prince Mathew Adeniyi Adeyemi to use the non-existent PFIPC as a vehicle for siphoning public funds. According to the party, this supposed agency managed to secure budget allocations and open multiple accounts with the Central Bank of Nigeria, despite the Presidency previously denying its existence.
The allegations further claim that the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation authorized 314 staff positions for the fictitious entity. Furthermore, Adeyemi reportedly stated that he paid 400 million Naira to the Chief of Staff to secure his position, with an additional 200 million Naira still owed. The NDC also highlighted the suspicious death of an intermediary, Babatunde Tanimola, who died in a hotel fire shortly after a petition was filed, alongside reports of assassination attempts against Adeyemi.
The NDC has called for an independent panel to investigate the PFIPC, the financial transactions, the death of Tanimola, and the safety of Adeyemi. They urged the EFCC, the ICPC, and the Nigeria Police Force to pursue a comprehensive inquiry into the matter, rejecting any efforts by the administration to dismiss these claims through simple press statements.
