Former Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Solomon Dalung, has called for a broad investigation into the controversy surrounding the alleged fake Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), naming several top government officials he believes should be held accountable.
Dalung made the remarks during an appearance on Channels Television on Friday while reacting to the ongoing scandal involving Adeyemi Adeniyi Matthew, who allegedly presented himself as Director-General of the non-existent Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), also referred to as the Presidential Economic Advisory Council.
The Presidency has dismissed Adeniyi’s claims of appointment, describing him as an impostor accused of forging official documents to gain legitimacy.
Speaking on the matter, Dalung argued that the investigation should not be limited to Adeniyi alone but should extend to senior officials within the Presidency and key government institutions.
According to him, President Bola Tinubu, Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila, Secretary to the Government of the Federation George Akume, National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu, the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) should all be investigated.
“Those that Nigeria should hold accountable: number one, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu; number two, the Chief of Staff; number three, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation; number four, the National Security Adviser; number five, the Director-General of the DSS; number six, the Chairman of the EFCC; and number seven, the Central Bank Governor.
“These people, in my view, played roles in embarrassing Nigeria,” Dalung said.
The former minister particularly singled out Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila, describing him as the “prime suspect” in the controversy.
Dalung maintained that any credible investigation must first examine the role of the Chief of Staff, whom he described as the President’s gatekeeper.
“Anybody who is not looking at the Chief of Staff to the President as a prime suspect is complicit in the entire transaction and needs to be investigated,” he stated.
He further argued that access to the Presidential Villa is tightly controlled and could not have been obtained without proper authorisation.
“Adeniyi did not access the Villa except when somebody granted him a pass. The Villa is not Zone 4 or a marketplace. Even if you have an appointment in the Villa, you must be accredited with a pass to gain entry, and the designated area of your visit must be captured within the security network of the Villa,” Dalung said.
The former minister also suggested that Gbajabiamila should have stepped aside to allow for an impartial investigation.
“The Chief of Staff, who is the ear and the eyes of the President, the gatekeeper, and the first contact point with the office of the President, should, by this time, have been suspended before any other investigation because they are not going to make any headway without him,” he added.
Dalung further contended that the Chief of Staff must explain whether the President was misled, whether crucial information was deliberately withheld, or whether the incident resulted from what he described as personal interests.
“The Chief of Staff to the President is the number one suspect because he is responsible for either misleading the President, deliberately failing to provide the relevant information because of his vested interest in the matter, or creating this embarrassing situation in pursuit of a personal and selfish agenda,” he said.
Drawing comparisons with previous controversies, Dalung alleged that the PFIPC saga reflected a pattern of irregularities linked to the Office of the Chief of Staff.
Referring to the controversy involving former Humanitarian Affairs Minister Betta Edu, he claimed, “The Betta Edu scandal also originated from his office. His office was involved in coordinating the approval of consultancy contracts… violating laid-down procedures.”
