Paul Ibe, Media Adviser to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has faulted President Bola Tinubu’s directive on the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC).
According to a Tuesday statement issued by Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, Tinubu ordered the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to thoroughly investigate the activities of PFIPC and all related matters.
The president ordered all ministries, departments and agencies of government to provide the ICPC, upon lawful request, with all relevant information, records and assistance required for the expeditious completion of the investigation.
He further directed that the investigation be concluded and a comprehensive report submitted to him within 30 days, emphasising that the integrity of the Presidency and the institutions of government must be protected against impersonation, forgery, abuse of official identity, and the exploitation of weaknesses in the public service.
Reacting, Ibe said no fair probe could be conducted unless key personalities linked to the saga, including Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, are first suspended.
“It is flagrantly wrong for President Bola Tinubu to order the ICPC to investigate the so-called “fake” agency, Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) and its “phantom” Director General, Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew without asking the key suspects, including his Chief of Staff, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, to proceed on suspension pending the conclusion of the investigation,” Ibe said in a Facebook post.
He added, “Not suspending all those involved in the #GbajaGate scandal is akin to them being a judge in their own case.
“Their continued stay in office while the investigation is going on, gives them the opportunity to interfere with the investigation process.”
Gbajabiamila has threatened to institute a N10 billion lawsuit against Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, who has been parading himself as the Director-General of PFIPC, an agency the federal government insists does not exist.
