The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has accused the Presidency of attempting to whitewash the alleged fake Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) scandal.

In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku argued that the Presidency cannot rely on an interim report from the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) as proof of its innocence. Instead, he maintained that the report exposes deeper systemic failures, raising critical questions about how a fraudulent operation was allowed to thrive inside government corridors.

According to Atiku, the ICPC report points to severe negligence and potential connivance by public officers. He emphasized that the scandal goes far beyond the actions of a single individual, noting that the prime suspect allegedly forged a presidential appointment letter, set up a fictitious federal agency, operated directly out of government offices, and opened bank accounts using forged legislative documents.

“If public officers were negligent, who are they? Who granted access to government offices? Who recognised this supposed Director General? Who enabled him to operate within the machinery of government?” Atiku demanded.

The former vice president argued that the ICPC`s own recommendation to sanction negligent public officers proves the scam was not the work of a lone impostor. He insisted that the identities of all complicit officials must be made public so Nigerians can know who authorized the operation and opened the doors for the fraud to take place.

Furthermore, Atiku rejected the use of a preliminary text to declare total exoneration, demanding the immediate and full publication of the ICPC report while investigations into financial accounts and collaborators continue.

To ensure absolute transparency, the ADC candidate called on the National Assembly to launch a live-broadcast, open investigation. He noted that this public hearing is especially urgent now that the central figure of the controversy, Mr. Adeyemi, has offered to testify openly before lawmakers.

“If the Villa is truly clean, it should be the first to welcome live television coverage. Let Nigerians watch, unedited, as the witnesses testify, and the evidence is presented under oath,” Atiku stated.

Warning that anything less than a fully transparent probe will look like a cover-up for powerful individuals, Atiku concluded: “Transparency cannot stop where the trail enters the corridors of power. The Presidency cannot investigate itself into innocence.”