Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has accused the Presidency of attempting to clear itself over the alleged fake Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) scandal.
Atiku said the Presidency could not rely on the interim
report of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences
Commission (ICPC) as proof of its innocence.
He argued that the report raised questions about how the
alleged fraud was allowed to operate within government offices.
He made the position known in a statement issued by his
Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu.
Atiku said the ICPC report reportedly identified cases of
negligence and alleged connivance by public officers in government processes
that allowed the fake agency to operate.
According to him, the allegations went beyond the activities
of one person, as the suspect was alleged to have forged a presidential
appointment letter, created a fictitious federal agency, used government
offices and opened bank accounts with 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
asked.
He said the reported recommendation for sanctions against
public officers whose negligence facilitated the alleged activities showed that
the matter could not simply be treated as the work of a lone impostor.
Atiku also demanded that the identities of officials
allegedly involved in the process be made public.
“Nigerians deserve to know who did what, who authorised
what, and who opened the doors that made this possible,” he said.
The former vice president also called for the full
publication of the ICPC report, saying an interim report should not be used as
a final declaration of innocence while investigations into possible
collaborators and related bank accounts were still ongoing.
Atiku further called on the National Assembly to conduct an
open investigation into the scandal and broadcast the proceedings live.
He said the call had become more important after the central
figure in the controversy, identified as Mr Adeyemi, reportedly offered to
appear before lawmakers and testify publicly.
“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 said.
He warned that anything short of a transparent investigation
could increase public suspicion that powerful individuals were being protected.
“Transparency cannot stop where the trail enters the
corridors of power. The Presidency cannot investigate itself into innocence,”
Atiku said.
He urged the government to open the investigation to public
scrutiny, put witnesses under oath and allow Nigerians to hear the evidence for
themselves.
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