By Zainab Bakare
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has rejected President Bola Tinubu’s directive to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate the alleged Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), insisting that only an independent commission of inquiry can restore public confidence.
In a statement issued on Wednesday by his spokesman, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku argued that the President’s decision to order a fresh probe contradicted the government’s earlier position that the Nigeria Police had already completed investigations and filed charges in court.
“If the police investigation was comprehensive, another investigation is unnecessary. If another investigation has become necessary, then the inevitable conclusion is that the earlier investigation was insufficient. The president cannot simultaneously maintain both positions without contradicting his own government,” the statement said.
Atiku questioned how the alleged organisation reportedly secured office accommodation, interacted with government institutions, conducted recruitment and operated bank accounts if, as the Presidency claimed, it never officially existed.
“Institutions do not accidentally confer legitimacy. Bureaucracies do not unknowingly sustain official-looking operations for months. Somewhere between the Presidency’s denials and the appearance of official legitimacy lies the truth Nigerians deserve to know,” he said.
The former vice president also criticised the 30-day timeline given to the ICPC, arguing that the case was not a fresh investigation requiring weeks to resolve.
“Nigerians deserve answers within days, not another cycle of delay,” he stated.
Atiku maintained that the Federal Government could not impartially investigate a controversy involving its own institutions and renewed his call for an independent commission of inquiry.
He proposed a panel comprising representatives of the Federal Government, the African Democratic Congress (ADC), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), civil society organisations, the Nigerian
Bar Association, retired judicial officers and other eminent Nigerians to investigate the matter and publish its findings within one month.
“Anything less will leave the unavoidable impression that the government prefers to investigate itself behind closed doors rather than submit to genuinely independent scrutiny,” Atiku added.
