By Opeyemi Adelakun
Human rights activist and African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, has challenged the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to make public the full video recording of its interrogation of President Bola Tinubu’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, over the alleged Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) scandal.
Sowore made the demand on Tuesday through a post on his X handle, rejecting the anti-corruption agency’s clarification that Gbajabiamila merely honoured an invitation from investigators.
According to him, only the release of the complete, unedited interrogation footage would convince Nigerians that the investigation was genuine.
“If the ICPC truly interrogated Tinubu’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, they should release the full, unedited video recording to the public now. All these gimmicks won’t work. We know this is just another smokescreen,” Sowore stated.
His reaction followed the ICPC’s denial of reports claiming that the former Speaker of the House of Representatives had been arrested in connection with the alleged activities of the PFIPC.
The commission explained that Gbajabiamila voluntarily appeared before its investigators at the agency’s Abuja headquarters on Monday after receiving an invitation.
According to the ICPC, the Chief of Staff answered questions relating to the ongoing probe into the controversial council before leaving after making his statement.
“The Commission confirms that the Chief of Staff’s visit was on the invitation of its investigators and consistent with its ongoing efforts to gather all relevant facts in the matter.
“He was not arrested; he simply willingly honoured an invitation,” the commission stated.
The anti-graft agency said President Tinubu directed it to investigate how the purported Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council allegedly operated from the Federal Secretariat in Abuja for about two years under the leadership of Adeniyi Adeyemi, who reportedly presented himself as the council’s Director-General.
The controversy has also attracted the attention of the House of Representatives, which has commenced its own investigation into the alleged operation of the agency.
At a public hearing on Monday, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) disclosed that it opened two foreign currency domiciliary accounts for the PFIPC following a mandate issued by the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.
CBN Director of Banking Services, Hamisu Ibrahim, however, told lawmakers that although the accounts—one denominated in United States dollars and the other in British pounds—were duly created after the bank verified the mandate, they were never activated because no authorised signatory came forward to operate them.
Adeyemi, who allegedly posed as the Director-General of the council, has since been arrested and is currently facing prosecution over the alleged fraud.
Leave a Reply