Pressure is mounting on the presidency to act decisively in the widening scandal over the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) after a prominent civil society organization joined a growing chorus demanding the suspension of Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila pending an independent investigation.
The Resource Centre for Human Rights and Civic Education (CHRICED) issued the call in a statement on Sunday signed by its Executive Director, Comrade Ibrahim M. Zikirullahi.
The organization said the unresolved questions surrounding the PFIPC had exposed troubling gaps in transparency and institutional oversight at the highest levels of government and insisted that the controversy could not be allowed to fester without an impartial inquiry.
The row stems from claims made by Adeniyi Adeyemi, described by the presidency as a disclaimed and self-styled director-general of the PFIPC, who alleged that Gbajabiamila facilitated his appointment to the post in exchange for payment.
CHRICED described the allegation as grave enough to warrant a transparent, independent probe rather than an internal government review.
The claim has snowballed into one of the most consequential controversies to confront the Tinubu administration this year. Other civil society and opposition voices have since put figures to the allegations: The Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR) said Adeyemi accused Gbajabiamila of demanding billions of naira and receiving hundreds of millions through proxies to secure the appointment, while the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has alleged the “non-existent agency” was used to siphon public funds with the Chief of Staff’s alleged collusion.
According to statements attributed to special adviser on information and strategy Bayo Onanuga, the government maintains that the PFIPC does not exist as a recognized agency and that Adeyemi is an impostor who forged a presidential appointment letter, operated dozens of bank accounts under fictitious government bodies, and even opened an account with the Central Bank of Nigeria using falsified documents.
Officials say Gbajabiamila petitioned security agencies as far back as October 2025 after the forged documents first surfaced, resulting in criminal charges against Adeyemi and two others now before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Beyond the immediate allegation, CHRICED tied the episode to wider anxieties about the management of public resources. The group referenced the International Monetary Fund’s 2026 Article IV Consultation Report, which it said pointed to discrepancies between actual government expenditure and figures reflected in official budget documents.
It called on the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Budget Office of the Federation to clarify the reported unrecorded spending flagged in the IMF assessment. The Ministry has since issued a statement denying the allegation.
The organization also drew a link between the governance concerns raised by the PFIPC affair and Nigeria’s deteriorating security climate, noting that persistent kidnappings, banditry, and other violent crime continue to erode public confidence in the government’s capacity to protect citizens and manage state affairs responsibly.
CHRICED’s statement laid out a series of specific demands:
- The immediate suspension of Gbajabiamila as chief of staff pending the conclusion of investigations into the allegations against him.
- The establishment of an independent investigative panel made up of civil society representatives, anti-corruption experts, and members of the judiciary, rather than a purely internal government inquiry.
- Full public disclosure of the mandates, funding structures, and operational details of all government-linked councils, committees, and intervention bodies, an apparent bid to prevent similar ambiguity from surrounding other obscure agencies in the future.
- A recommitment by the government to transparency and accountability, which the group said was especially urgent given the economic hardship and insecurity many Nigerians are currently experiencing.
The group closed its statement with an appeal to civil society organizations, the media, labor unions, religious bodies, youth groups, and other stakeholders to remain vigilant and keep pressing public officials for accountability.
CHRICED’s intervention adds to a rapidly swelling list of organizations and public figures demanding Gbajabiamila’s removal or voluntary exit pending investigation. The CDHR has urged him to step aside “to preserve the credibility and integrity of the investigation,” while human rights lawyer Femi Falana has similarly argued that the chief of staff should step aside in the interest of the country.
The opposition NDC has gone further, demanding his outright removal, arguing that his continued presence in office represents a conflict of interest that could compromise any probe.
Former Minister of Youth and Sports Development Solomon Dalung has been especially pointed, naming Gbajabiamila the “prime suspect” in the affair and arguing that no credible investigation can proceed without first scrutinizing the Chief of Staff’s office. Dalung also called for scrutiny of other senior officials, including the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the National Security Adviser, and the heads of the DSS, EFCC, and Central Bank.
Not all reactions have been unfavorable to the chief of staff. Some voices, including elements aligned with the Arewa Youth Forum, have characterized Gbajabiamila as a whistleblower who alerted authorities to the fraud rather than a participant in it, underscoring how sharply divided public opinion remains on where responsibility ultimately lies.
With criminal proceedings against Adeyemi already under way at the Federal High Court and mounting political pressure for an independent inquiry into the chief of staff’s role, the PFIPC affair looks set to remain one of the defining controversies testing the Tinubu administration’s transparency credentials in the months ahead.
Whether the government heeds calls from CHRICED and others for Gbajabiamila to step aside or continues to resist them as it has so far may determine how much public trust the administration retains as it confronts simultaneous headwinds on the economy and security.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
The PFIPC scandal boils down to one unresolved question: did Femi Gbajabiamila sell a presidential appointment for cash, or is Adeniyi Adeyemi an impostor who forged his way into government using a fake agency? The presidency insists it’s the latter and has criminal charges against Adeyemi to show for it.
CHRICED and a growing list of civil society groups, lawyers, and opposition figures say that’s beside the point; no one implicated, especially Gbajabiamila, should be investigating themselves, which is why they’re demanding he step aside first and let an independent panel sort out who’s telling the truth.
Until that happens, the real story isn’t the scandal itself, but what the government’s resistance to an independent probe says about its transparency.
