The African Democratic Congress, ADC, says only an independent judicial panel can “provide answers beyond all reasonable doubt” to the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, PFIPC, scandal, and has rejected President Bola Tinubu’s directive for the ICPC to lead the investigation.
In a statement signed by National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi on Wednesday the party said while it welcomes the President’s decision to order a probe, handing it to the ICPC “conveys the impression that the President intends to keep the investigation in-house and possibly be a judge in his own case.”
“A Presidency that is at the very heart of a historic scandal such as this does not have the credibility to authorise an investigation into a matter that has brought an entire country into disrepute,” Abdullahi said.
The party laid out five conditions for credibility: stating that an Independent Inquiry should be deployed. The President should constitute a panel of “trusted citizens” instead of relying on an executive agency. “A government that is drowning in scandals cannot be trusted to investigate itself,” the ADC said.
“The party faulted the Presidency for already describing appointment letters and other documents as “forged” before investigations began. It said investigators must determine independently whether the documents were forged, improperly issued, fraudulently obtained, or lawfully issued.
” Because the probe may extend to officials connected to the Presidency, the ADC said the Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, should proceed on leave pending the outcome. “As long as he remains an active official of government, it creates the impression that the President is deliberately shielding a key party,” the statement read.
“The ADC demanded that findings of the investigation be made public in full and unredacted. “A report submitted only to the President is not enough. Nigerians have a right to know the truth,” it said.
“The party said merely announcing outcomes or “punishing a few expendable officials or scapegoats” will not restore confidence, especially with the international community “now viewing our Presidency as a den of scammers.”
The ADC also condemned the reported arrest of the father of Mr. Adeyemi Adeniyi, who claimed to be PFIPC head. The party described it as “an act of intimidation” that suggests the government is “desperate to hide the truth rather than uncover it.”
“It is an established fact that Nigerian law does not provide for vicarious liability. If prominent government actors who have questions to answer continue to sit in office while ordinary people are arrested, where is the justice in this?” Abdullahi asked.
The ADC said it had earlier called for an independent inquiry and warned against reducing the scandal to the actions of one individual. It noted that the President’s ICPC directive accepts “the central argument advanced by the ADC: that this matter requires an investigation.”
The party described the PFIPC controversy as “a national security matter that exposes either the culpability or the vulnerability of our institutions” and vowed to “continue to monitor developments closely.”
“It must therefore not be swept under the Presidential red carpet,” the statement concluded.
