Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has rejected attempts to portray the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission’s (ICPC) interim report on the alleged fake Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) as a clean bill of health for the Presidency, insisting that the report raises more questions than it answers.
Atiku called on the National Assembly to immediately convene a live, public hearing into the scandal, arguing that Nigerians deserve to know the identities of government officials whose alleged negligence or connivance enabled the operation of the purported fictitious agency.
The former Vice President’s position followed the release of the ICPC’s interim investigation report, which reportedly found that a suspect forged a presidential appointment letter, created the fake PFIPC, appropriated government offices and official instruments, opened bank accounts using forged legislative documents and established two additional fictitious government agencies.
In a statement issued on Thursday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku maintained that the report itself undermines the narrative that the scandal was the handiwork of a lone individual.
He argued that the commission’s recommendation that sanctions be imposed on public officials whose negligence facilitated the alleged fraud was sufficient evidence that others within government must have played a role.
“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 queried.
According to him, the creation and operation of a fake federal agency could not have occurred without the involvement or complicity of officials within government.
“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 said.
The former Vice President accused the anti-graft agency of shielding individuals within the Presidency allegedly linked to the scandal by withholding their identities in the interim report.
“What the ICPC interim report has done, in the main, is to shield the identities of shadow operatives within the Presidency who allegedly connived to enable the fraud. Their identities should be made public and their roles fully explained. Nigerians deserve to know who did what, who authorised what, and who opened the doors that made this possible,” he stated.
Atiku further argued that since the investigation remains ongoing, the Presidency cannot rely on the interim report as proof that no senior government official was involved.
He also referenced the reported request by the central figure in the controversy, Mr Adeyemi, to appear before a National Assembly investigation in a session broadcast live nationwide.
“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. The National Assembly should immediately institute an open, live-broadcast public hearing into this scandal,” he said.
He maintained that anything short of a transparent public hearing would deepen public suspicion that influential figures were being protected.
Atiku therefore demanded the release of the full ICPC report and the publication of the identities of all public officials found culpable, insisting that only a transparent and independent process could restore public confidence.
“Transparency cannot stop where the trail enters the corridors of power. The Presidency cannot investigate itself into innocence. Open the investigation. Put the witnesses under oath. Switch on the cameras. Let Nigerians hear the truth for themselves. The question remains: who inside the Villa opened the door?” he asked.