Pressure mounted on the Presidency on Thursday as former Vice President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, demanded a live public hearing into the alleged fake Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) scandal, insisting that the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) failed to identify public officials who allegedly enabled the operation of the fictitious agency.
Atiku argued that while the anti-graft agency’s interim report detailed an elaborate fraud involving forged presidential documents, fake government agencies and impersonation, it stopped short of exposing the government officials whose alleged negligence or connivance made the scheme possible.
In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the former Vice President said the report leaves “the most important questions unanswered,” warning that Nigerians would continue to doubt the credibility of the investigation unless those implicated within government are publicly identified.
“The report admits there was negligence and connivance by public officials. If there was connivance, who connived? If there was negligence, who were the negligent officers? Who gave access to government offices? Who recognised the alleged Director-General? Who opened the doors of government to a fake agency?” Atiku asked.
He maintained that the ICPC’s recommendation that disciplinary action be taken against unnamed public officers effectively contradicts any suggestion that the scandal was solely the handiwork of one individual.
According to him, “a fake agency does not operate inside government without human enablers.”
“A forged appointment letter does not validate itself. Bank accounts do not open themselves. Every process that was bypassed and every official instrument that was accessed had people behind them. Nigerians deserve to know who they are,” he said.
Atiku accused the commission of shielding what he described as “shadow operatives” within the Presidency by withholding their identities in the interim report.
He insisted that transparency must not end where the investigation reaches the seat of power, arguing that confidence in the probe can only be restored through full disclosure of everyone found to have played a role in the alleged fraud.
The former Vice President also seized on reports that the principal suspect in the case, Mr. Adeyemi, has expressed readiness to testify before the National Assembly in a session broadcast live across the country.
He challenged lawmakers to immediately convene an open hearing, saying Nigerians should be allowed to hear directly from witnesses and scrutinise the evidence for themselves.
“If Mr. Adeyemi is prepared to testify publicly under oath, then let him be heard. The National Assembly should immediately institute a live public hearing into this scandal.
“Anything short of that will only reinforce public suspicion that influential figures are being protected. Transparency cannot stop where the trail enters the corridors of power. Open the investigation. Let Nigerians hear the truth for themselves.
“The question that remains unanswered is simple: who inside the Villa opened the door?” Atiku said.
He further called for the immediate release of the full ICPC report, including the identities of all public officials found culpable, maintaining that only a transparent and independent investigation can restore public confidence in the handling of the PFIPC controversy.