The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has rejected the interim report of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) on the alleged fake Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), describing the findings as predictable and inadequate.
The opposition party also accused the Federal Government of engaging in damage control rather than conducting what it described as a comprehensive investigation into how the alleged fictitious agency operated within the government system and reportedly secured a N1.3 billion provision in the 2026 Appropriation Act.
The ADC's position was contained in a statement issued on Sunday by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi.
The party said the ICPC's interim report failed to address what it described as critical questions surrounding the alleged operations of the PFIPC, including how the purported agency allegedly obtained office accommodation within the Federal Secretariat, had civil servants deployed to it, received official vehicles and security personnel and secured a budgetary allocation.
The ADC queried the circumstances under which an individual allegedly linked to the matter could have accessed such official privileges and resources without the involvement or knowledge of government officials and institutions.
“If, according to the ICPC report, Adeyemi had kicked down the door of the Secretariat office and allocated it to himself, did he also deploy the civil servants to himself, allocate the reported N1.3 billion to himself in the 2026 Appropriation Act, allocate official vehicles with customised number plates to himself and deploy armed security to himself?” the party asked.
The ADC said the questions raised by the alleged existence and operations of the PFIPC required a broader and more transparent investigation than what it said was reflected in the ICPC's interim findings.
It recalled that when President Bola Tinubu directed the anti-corruption agency to investigate the matter, the party had called for a full-scale probe by an independent panel.
According to the opposition party, its call was based on concerns that an investigation conducted within the existing government structure could fail to uncover all those who may have played roles in facilitating the alleged fraud.
“The interim report has now confirmed our fears that the investigation would focus on a single individual rather than uncovering the government officials and institutions that may have enabled the alleged fraud,” the ADC said.
The party maintained that the alleged circumstances surrounding the PFIPC could not be adequately explained by holding only one individual responsible, insisting that all public officials, agencies and institutions that may have facilitated its activities should be identified and investigated.
ADC therefore called for a comprehensive and independent investigation into the matter, saying Nigerians deserved a full explanation of how an alleged fictitious government agency could reportedly operate within official premises, access public personnel and facilities and make its way into the federal budget.
The party said the probe should go beyond the actions of any single suspect and establish whether there were officials or institutional actors whose actions, omissions or approvals enabled the alleged operation.
It urged the Federal Government and relevant anti-corruption agencies to ensure that the investigation was conducted transparently and without shielding anyone found to have been connected with the alleged scheme.
The ICPC's interim report on the matter has continued to generate reactions, with the ADC insisting that the investigation must answer what it described as fundamental questions about the alleged PFIPC's access to government facilities, personnel, security and public funds.
