Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila, has said some people wanted the President to make a quick judgment ( sack ) over the controversy surrounding the purported Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), but Tinubu insisted that the matter be properly investigated.
Gbajabiamila made the statement on Saturday in Lagos, where he said the controversy surrounding the purported agency had personally tested him and led to questions about his role in the matter. Vanguard reported that he praised Tinubu for allowing investigations to take their course rather than reaching a conclusion before they were completed.
The PFIPC was declared fictitious by the Presidency after Adeniyi Adeyemi presented himself as its Director-General. President Tinubu subsequently directed the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate the circumstances surrounding the purported agency.
Gbajabiamila said investigations by security and anti-corruption agencies cleared him of wrongdoing. Separately, a House of Representatives committee investigating the matter said in September that it found no evidence that Gbajabiamila approved, established or participated in the activities of the purported organisation.
He said the decision to allow due process was important because rushing to judgment could have produced a different outcome before investigators established the facts. The ICPC investigation into the wider fake-agency controversy has also led to further findings and government measures aimed at strengthening controls over federal agencies and public institutions.