The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has called for an independent judicial inquiry into the controversy surrounding the alleged Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), describing the matter as a major test of institutional integrity and governance under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
The opposition party said the Presidency’s response to allegations surrounding the PFIPC and claims of bribery involving the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, failed to address critical questions and instead raised fresh concerns about accountability within government.
In a statement on Friday, the ADC said the July 1 response by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, which described the PFIPC as a “fictitious” organisation, had deepened rather than resolved the controversy.
According to the party, if the Presidency’s position is correct, it raises serious questions about how a non-existent body allegedly secured official recognition, engaged government ministries, interacted with foreign diplomats, processed recruitment approvals and reportedly appeared in the 2026 federal budget.
The party argued that the controversy extends beyond allegations against a single official and touches on the credibility of Nigeria’s public institutions and national security architecture.
It therefore called for investigations into the roles of several top government offices and institutions, including the Office of the Chief of Staff, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, the Budget Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Office of the National Security Adviser, the Department of State Services (DSS), the Nigeria Police Force, the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, the Central Bank of Nigeria and relevant committees of the National Assembly.
The ADC also demanded that Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, identified in the controversy, be investigated to determine the extent of his involvement in the establishment and operation of the PFIPC, including allegations that he made payments to senior government officials.
According to the party, the proposed judicial panel should have powers to summon witnesses, compel the production of official documents and determine whether there was negligence, abuse of office, misconduct, collusion or criminal wrongdoing.
The opposition party maintained that Nigerians deserve a full explanation if the PFIPC was indeed a fictitious organisation, questioning how it allegedly obtained recruitment waivers, budgetary allocations, official correspondence and diplomatic engagements across multiple government institutions.
It also argued that if the organisation was legitimate, the government should explain why it had publicly distanced itself from it while defending officials implicated in the allegations.
The ADC criticised what it described as selective accountability by the Tinubu administration, noting that anti-corruption and security agencies had previously moved swiftly against former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai over separate allegations but had not taken similar action regarding claims involving the President’s Chief of Staff.
The party said the perceived double standard undermines public confidence in government institutions and reinforces concerns that different standards of accountability apply to political allies and opponents.
It urged President Tinubu to immediately establish an independent Judicial Commission of Inquiry headed by respected Nigerians to investigate the entire PFIPC affair.
The ADC warned that failure to conduct a transparent investigation would reinforce public perceptions that the administration is unwilling to address corruption allegations involving senior officials.
The party further declared that if the government fails to act, the PFIPC controversy would become one of the accountability issues an ADC-led administration would pursue, promising that all approvals, budgetary allocations, financial transactions and official correspondence connected to the scandal would be subjected to scrutiny and that anyone found culpable would face prosecution in accordance with the law.
“The damage that this scandal has done to the integrity of our public institutions is indeed incalculable. We imagine that when next a government agency engages with the international diplomatic communities, serious questions must be lurking at the back of their minds whether the government would wake up tomorrow and deny that such agencies actually exist.
“if contrary to the Presidency’s position, the PFIPC is not a fictitious organisation, then Nigerians deserve to know why the government has decided to publicly disown a legitimate agency of government as way of defending one of its official on the serious allegations of bribery.
“The ADC therefore calls on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to immediately constitute an independent Judicial Commission of Inquiry, chaired by eminent and independent Nigerians, to uncover the full truth behind the PFIPC scandal.”