PFIPC: Suspend Gbajabiamila As Buhari Did Babachir Lawal— Atiku Asks Tinubu
Former vice president and 2027 presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has asked President Bola Tinubu to suspend his chief of staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, to allow for “unfettered” investigation of allegations against him.
In a statement issued via his media aide, Paul Ibe, on Tuesday, Atiku said “silence and indifference” cannot take away the “unfolding” corruption allegations against Gbajabiamila.
The ex-VP cited how former President Muhammadu Buhari suspended Babachir Lawal as secretary to the government of the federation to allow for investigation, adding that Gbajabiamila should not be treated differently.
Atiku expressed shock over the recent allegations of “illegally cornering tens of billions of naira in oil and gas royalties from petroleum regulatory commission, citing a fake law for presidential approval” levelled against Gbajabiamila.
The former vice-president said Tinubu’s administration “can’t pretend to be prosecuting opposition figures for corruption, while corruption is growing like weed under its own nose”.
“You can’t preach the rule of law when your own officials are awarded with the trophy of untouchability,” Atiku said.
“Gbajabiamila must be held accountable like every other public official and independently investigated to give him full opportunity to defend himself against the brazen act of corruption as detailed in the Gazette report.
“Former President Buhari suspended his SGF Babachir Lawal from office in order to allow for unfettered investigation against him and Gbajabiamila shouldn’t be treated differently.”
Gbajabiamila has come under intense scrutiny following allegations by Adeniyi Adeyemi, director-general of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), that the chief of staff collected a N400 million bribe in exchange for issuing him an appointment letter.
Although there is no known legal framework or presidential proclamation establishing the PFIPC, the body reportedly functioned like a government agency. It was allocated funds in the 2026 Appropriation Act, operated from an office within the Federal Secretariat, and recruited staff.
A similar development occurred in April 2017, when the late former President Buhari suspended the then Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal, over allegations of breaches of due process and violations of procurement laws in the award of contracts under the Presidential Initiative on the North-East (PINE).
The suspension remained in effect while a three-member investigative panel examined the allegations. Following the panel's findings, Lawal was removed from office, and Boss Mustapha was subsequently appointed as the new Secretary to the Government of the Federation.