Tinubu Must Apologise To Nigerians And Resign, Atiku Insists Over PFIPC Controversy

Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has called on President Bola Tinubu to apologise to Nigerians and resign over the controversy surrounding the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) accounts.

Atiku said the conflicting accounts by the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on the opening of the PFIPC accounts had exposed what he described as a deepening credibility crisis within the Tinubu administration.

In a statement issued on Wednesday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the former vice president said testimony presented by the CBN before the House of Representatives contradicted the earlier position of the Office of the Accountant-General, raising serious concerns about accountability and transparency.

According to him, the conflicting accounts suggest that one of the institutions is not telling the truth.

“This is where the cover-up appears to begin. One institution denied authorising the opening of the PFIPC accounts and alleged forgery. Another, before the representatives of the Nigerian people, stated that the accounts were opened on the directive of the Accountant-General after due process was followed. Both accounts cannot be true.”

Atiku said the contradiction between two of the country’s most critical financial institutions had left the administration “trapped in a web of deception.”

“When two of your most sensitive financial and monetary authorities publicly contradict each other on the same transaction, no serious leader needs a clairvoyant to know that his administration is trapped in a web of deception and a profound crisis of credibility. The President cannot continue to watch from the sidelines while his government tears itself apart with conflicting narratives.”

He challenged President Tinubu to state which version of events he believed and questioned the delay in ordering an independent investigation.

“President Tinubu must answer a simple question: Which version does he believe—the Accountant-General’s or the Central Bank’s? If he believes neither, why has he not acted? Every day he delays ordering a truly independent investigation, he deepens public suspicion that preserving his administration’s image has taken precedence over establishing the truth.”

The former vice president also criticised the silence of the Attorney-General of the Federation, saying it had further fuelled public suspicion.

“The continued silence of the Attorney-General of the Federation, the nation’s chief law officer, only compounds this credibility crisis and reinforces the perception that this administration is more interested in containing the political fallout than uncovering the truth.”

Atiku urged the National Assembly to summon both the Accountant-General of the Federation and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria to appear together before its investigative committee under oath to reconcile the conflicting accounts.

He argued that the controversy had gone beyond questions over disputed accounts to become a test of the administration’s credibility.

“The PFIPC scandal has ceased to be merely about disputed accounts. It has become a referendum on President Tinubu’s integrity and competence. If a single individual could allegedly orchestrate a scheme that has thrown two of Nigeria’s most critical financial and monetary authorities into public contradiction, Nigerians are entitled to ask how many other abuses may have escaped detection because of weak oversight and institutional failure.”

Atiku maintained that President Tinubu owed Nigerians an apology and should take responsibility if he failed to restore public confidence through an independent investigation.

“President Tinubu owes Nigerians an unreserved apology for presiding over this unprecedented collapse of public accountability. If he cannot immediately restore public confidence through a genuinely independent investigation and ensure that everyone responsible is held to account, then he has forfeited the moral authority to continue in office. The honourable course is simple: apologise to Nigerians and resign.”

The PFIPC controversy has drawn public attention following conflicting claims by the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation and the Central Bank of Nigeria over the authorisation and opening of accounts linked to the council.