Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has called on President Bola Tinubu to apologise to Nigerians and resign over the PFIPC scandal, arguing that conflicting explanations from key government institutions have undermined public confidence in the administration.
In a statement issued on Wednesday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate said the controversy surrounding the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) had evolved into a major test of the government’s credibility.
Atiku’s remarks followed differing accounts reportedly presented by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) concerning the PFIPC accounts. According to him, the testimony presented by the CBN before the House of Representatives directly contradicts the earlier position attributed to the OAGF, creating what he described as one of the most serious public accountability crises in Nigeria’s democratic history.
He argued that the President could no longer remain silent while two of the country’s most critical financial institutions publicly offered conflicting narratives on the same issue.
The former Vice President maintained that President Tinubu should publicly apologise to Nigerians and immediately initiate a genuinely independent investigation into the controversy.
He warned that failure to restore public confidence and hold anyone found culpable accountable would amount to a loss of the moral authority required to continue leading the country. According to Atiku, if the President is unwilling or unable to take decisive action, resignation would be the honourable course.
Atiku said the conflicting positions taken by the CBN and the Accountant-General’s Office reflect deeper governance concerns. He argued that when agencies responsible for Nigeria’s financial and monetary management publicly disagree on a matter of national importance, it raises questions about transparency and accountability within government.
He also challenged President Tinubu to clearly state which of the competing accounts he believes, insisting that continued silence only fuels public suspicion. According to him, every delay in ordering an independent inquiry increases concerns that protecting the administration’s image is being prioritised over establishing the truth.
The former Vice President also criticised the Attorney-General of the Federation for not publicly addressing the matter, describing the silence as unhelpful at a time when Nigerians deserve clarity.
He urged the National Assembly to summon both the Accountant-General of the Federation and the Governor of the Central Bank to appear jointly before its investigative committee under oath. According to Atiku, such a public hearing would allow lawmakers and Nigerians to receive a clear and consistent account of the disputed transactions.
Concluding his statement, Atiku argued that the PFIPC scandal has grown beyond questions surrounding disputed financial records. He said the controversy has become a broader assessment of the Tinubu administration’s integrity, competence and oversight mechanisms.
The former Vice President further suggested that if one individual could allegedly trigger a situation that placed two major government financial institutions in public disagreement, Nigerians are justified in questioning whether similar lapses may exist elsewhere within the system. The Federal Government has not officially responded to Atiku’s latest remarks at the time of filing this report.
