Atiku Gives Tinubu 7-Day Ultimatum Over Alleged Government Fraud Scandal

(Atiku Abubakar and Bola Tinubu. Photo Credit; Daily Post)

African Democratic Congress presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar has issued President Bola Tinubu a seven-day ultimatum to order a seamless, holistic and independent investigation into the scandal surrounding the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council.

In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the former Vice President warned that failure to act would deepen public suspicion that powerful figures within government had benefited from the alleged fr@ud.

He said the controversy had moved beyond simple forgery allegations into a full-blown crisis of institutional credibility, adding that many Nigerians seeking public sector appointments may have been defrauded through a racket that enjoyed official protection.

According to him, the explanation offered by the Presidency through spokesperson Bayo Onanuga did not add up and had raised more questions than it answered.

He argued that if the government wanted Nigerians to believe that one individual single-handedly created an office for himself, secured space within a government facility, held meetings with foreign embassy delegations, paid courtesy visits to the EFCC, processed staff salaries through official channels, allegedly operated institutional accounts, and carried out all of this without the knowledge, approval, negligence or involvement of anyone else in government, then that account raised more troubling questions than it resolved.

He warned that President Tinubu had seven days to address the scandal or risk facing accusations of complicity.

The presidential candidate further argued that while Adeniyi Adeyemi, the man at the centre of the scandal, must face the law if found to have committed fr@ud, the more pressing issue was what kind of government system allowed such an elaborate scheme to pass through budgetary, administrative, security and institutional channels without detection.

Atiku said the accused's personal background could not fully account for the institutional processes he reportedly navigated, questioning whether it was his character that secured budgetary allocations for what appeared to be a fictitious office, his reputation that got him space within a government facility, or his conduct that enabled him to hold meetings with foreign delegations, lawmakers and public officials.