Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has called on President Bola Tinubu to suspend his Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, pending an independent investigation into allegations of bribery and alleged irregularities surrounding budgetary allocations to the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC).
In a statement issued on Tuesday by the Atiku Media Office, the former vice president said the allegations against the President's Chief of Staff were too serious to be dismissed with what he described as "weak and unconvincing explanations."
Atiku said President Tinubu should demonstrate his administration's commitment to transparency and accountability by allowing an independent probe into the matter.
The call followed allegations by Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, who identified himself as the Director-General of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), accusing Gbajabiamila of wrongdoing and demanding an investigation into the agency and its budgetary allocations.
According to Atiku, Gbajabiamila's reported claim that the PFIPC did not exist had only raised further questions after the agency was allegedly allocated ₦27.4 billion in the 2026 Appropriation Act.
"How can ₦27.4 billion be allocated to a government agency that is said not to exist? That explanation raises more questions than answers," Atiku said.
He argued that if the agency truly did not exist, its appearance in the national budget called into question the credibility of the entire 2026 budget process.
"The Chief of Staff's explanation has only deepened public concern. Allocating billions of naira to a non-existent agency raises serious issues about the integrity of the national budget," he stated.
The former vice president described the alleged budgetary irregularity as a matter of national importance that deserved a thorough and transparent investigation.
He urged President Tinubu to direct an independent inquiry into the allegations and ask Gbajabiamila to step aside while the investigation is ongoing.
According to Atiku, accountability should apply to every public official regardless of personal or political relationships.
"Good governance is founded on transparency and accountability. President Tinubu must hold his Chief of Staff to the same standards expected of every other public official. The allegations involving ₦27.4 billion cannot simply be ignored," he said.
The controversy stems from allegations made by Prince Adeyemi during a press conference in Abuja on June 26, where he called for the establishment of an independent panel to investigate alleged financial irregularities involving the Chief of Staff.
Adeyemi, who also identified himself as the Director-General of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC), alleged that although Gbajabiamila publicly denied the existence of both the PFIPC and PEAC, the agencies were listed in the 2026 national budget with multi-billion-naira allocations.
He questioned how agencies allegedly unknown to the government could have been captured in the Appropriation Act.
"Even if we assume the agency does not exist, Nigerians deserve to know how its name appeared in the 2026 budget," Adeyemi said.
He further claimed that the PFIPC operated domiciliary accounts, including a pound sterling account and a Treasury Single Account with the Central Bank of Nigeria, arguing that such accounts could not have been opened without official government approval.
Adeyemi also alleged that there had been attempts to use security agencies to portray his diplomatic engagements as acts of espionage, an allegation he denied.
He called on President Tinubu to direct Gbajabiamila to produce all relevant official documents for forensic examination, review the budgetary allocations linked to the agencies and step aside to allow an impartial investigation.
"If I am wrong, let an independent investigation establish that. If the Chief of Staff is right, let the same process clear his name," Adeyemi said.
Neither the Presidency nor Gbajabiamila had issued a fresh response to Atiku's latest call at the time of filing this report.
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