The Nigeria Democratic Congress has called for the immediate suspension of Femi Gbajabiamila, the chief of staff to President Bola Tinubu, amid allegations that he received N400 million through a proxy and demanded an additional N200 million to facilitate the appointment of Adeniyi Adeyemi as director-general of an agency called the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC).
The opposition party also urged Mr Tinubu to promptly constitute an independent investigative panel to thoroughly investigate the scandal, including the operations of the alleged PFIPC agency, budgetary allocations, account openings, staff approvals and financial transactions.
A statement on Friday by the NDC spokesman, Osa Director, said the opposition party stated, “The NDC finds it deeply troubling that an agency the Presidency claims does not exist could open multiple high-level financial accounts at the apex bank. To open a domiciliary account, stringent documentation is required. How then was a fictitious agency able to open such accounts without the necessary documentation?
“Equally disturbing is the claim that the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation approved 314 staff positions for this supposedly non-existent agency. The NDC wonders how such a significant administrative action could occur without the knowledge of the Presidency and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.”
The NDC described Mr Tinubu’s administration as “so clueless and incompetent” for allowing major decisions to bypass its principal officers, adding that the allegations point to a disturbing pattern of institutionalised corruption, including the alleged sale of appointments to the highest bidders, which it described as a trademark of the current administration.
The opposition party described Mr Gbajabiamila’s alleged demand for N27,395,510,136, about 48 per cent of the agency’s take-off grant, as grievous.
NDC also described Mr Adeyemi’s alleged admission that he secured his appointment through the chief of staff for N600 million, with N400 million reportedly paid through proxies and an outstanding N200 million, which it described as alarming, triggering the current denial of the agency’s existence.
The party said it believed the scandal confirmed that the current administration has entrenched and legitimised corruption as a mode of governance.
It noted that the mysterious death of a suspect, Babatunde Tanimola, the alleged intermediary between Messrs Adeyemi and Gbajabiamila, who reportedly died in a fire incident at a hotel in Utako, Abuja, on October 22, 2025, a day after the chief of staff’s petition was received by the police, compounded the controversy.
“Mr Adeyemi has also raised an alarm over multiple assassination attempts on his life, including a brazen attack along the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway on September 7, 2025. He also cried out recently that there is an attempt by certain forces in government to eliminate him,” the NDC stated.
The NDC demanded the immediate suspension of Mr Gbajabiamila to allow for a full, impartial investigation, stating that his continued stay in office constitutes a clear conflict of interest and poses a threat to the integrity of any probe.
The spokesman also urged Mr Tinubu to immediately form an independent investigative panel to transparently probe the allegations, as well as investigate the mysterious death of Mr Tanimola and the alleged assassination attempts on Mr Adeyemi, with a view to uncovering the full truth and bringing the perpetrators to justice.
The NDC equally demanded witness protection for Mr Adeyemi, while urging that the chief of staff be compelled to produce all official documents he has signed since assuming office for forensic examination.
“All relevant actors, including officials of the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Office of the Accountant-General, and the Head of Civil Service, should be questioned. The EFCC, ICPC, and Nigeria Police Force must immediately commence a full-scale investigation into this matter without fear or favour,” the party added.