From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has said that revelations from the probe of the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) has exposed a federal government trapped by its own contradictions.
Consequently, Atiku, in a statement by
his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, charged President Bola Tinubu to apologize to Nigerians for presiding over alleged unprecedented collapse of public accountability.
The controversial PFIPC has been in the news, after the Presidency disowned the agency, amid revelations that the agency got N1.3billion appropriation in the 2026 budget, as well as opened accounts with the Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN).
The CBN, while testifying before the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee investigating the operations of the phantom “agency”, confirmed that it opened two domiciliary accounts for the PFIPC on the mandate of the Office of Accountant General of the Federation.
However, Atiku, who is also the African Democratic Congress ( ADC) 2027 presidential candidate, said the testimony of the apex bank contradicts the position of the Office of Accountant General of the Federation on the issue.
According to him, the CBN position “fundamentally contradicts the narrative earlier advanced by the Office of the Accountant-General, plunging the Tinubu administration into one of the gravest credibility crises in Nigeria’s democratic history.
“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.”
The former Vice President added that “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. The President cannot continue to watch from the sidelines while his government tears itself apart with conflicting narratives.”
“President Tinubu must answer a simple question: Which version does he believe—the Accountant-General’s or the Central Bank’s? 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.”
“The continued silence of the Attorney-General of the Federation, the nation’s chief law officer, only compounds this credibility crisis and reinforces the perception that this administration is more interested in containing the political fallout than uncovering the truth.”
He implored the National Assembly to immediately summon the Accountant-General of the Federation and the Governor of the Central Bank to appear together before its investigative committee under oath so Nigerians can finally hear one truthful account.
According to him, “the PFIPC scandal has ceased to be merely about disputed accounts. It has become a referendum on President Tinubu’s integrity and competence. 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.”
“President Tinubu owes Nigerians an unreserved apology for presiding over this unprecedented collapse of public accountability. 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. The honourable course is simple: apologise to Nigerians and resign.”
