The Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) has demanded the immediate resignation of President Bola Tinubu, his Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila and other officials linked to the alleged corruption scandal involving a purportedly non-existent Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) and the sale of public appointments.
CNPP, in a statement by its deputy national publicity secretary, James Ezema, on Sunday, said the development had snowballed into one of the greatest self-inflicted international embarrassments in Nigeria’s history.
The statement read, “Accordingly, the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties hereby demands the immediate sack or resignation of all public officers whose actions and inactions enabled this monumental national embarrassment, including the Chief of Staff to the President, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, if indeed an account was opened for a purported non-existent agency under the watch of the apex bank and relevant officials in the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.”
The conference also demanded the resignation of “relevant officials in the Budget Office of the Federation, members of the Federal Executive Council who reviewed and approved the budget proposal, ministers and heads of agencies who processed or interacted with documents relating to the agency and principal officers and committee chairmen in the National Assembly who handled the budget process and failed to detect the alleged anomaly.”
Expressing shock over the growing national embarrassment sorrounding purported Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, CNPP described the handling of the scandal as embarrassing.
“A competent and responsible administration with effective crisis-management mechanisms would simply have announced the scrapping of the agency, initiated an immediate investigation and transmitted an Executive Bill to the National Assembly seeking an amendment to the 2026 Appropriation Act to reflect the government’s decision.
“Instead, the APC-led Federal Government chose a path that has embarrassed Nigeria internationally, amplified doubts about the country’s institutional credibility and further strengthened the already negative global perception of Nigeria as a corruption-prone nation,” the statement added.
The conference further attributed the scandal to the failure of institutions, blaming it on the incompetence of those entrusted with the administration of the country and the network of officials whose actions and inactions allegedly legitimised a purportedly non-existent agency.
Demanding the establishment of independent judicial commission of inquiry to investigate the alleged scandal, the CNPP said Mr Tinubu should step down should he fail to immediately relieve these officials of their positions and commence a transparent process of accountability.
“The CNPP therefore demands the establishment of an independent judicial commission of inquiry to unravel the circumstances that led to this scandal; the prosecution of all persons found culpable, irrespective of their status or political office; and the resignation of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu should he fail to hold those responsible accountable and accept responsibility for the institutional collapse that has brought Nigeria into international disrepute,” it added.