Tinubu faces probe over PFIPC scandal and alleged N8.8 trillion spending

Nigeria’s president, Bola Tinubu, has been confronted with allegations that a non‑existent agency called the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) was allocated about ₦1.3 billion in the 2026 budget. The presidency denies the agency’s existence, labeling alleged director‑general Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi as an impostor, while accusations also implicate Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila in receiving illicit payments.

Former vice‑president and 2027 ADC presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar cited an International Monetary Fund Article IV report showing roughly ₦8.8 trillion—about two percent of Nigeria’s GDP—spent off‑budget, and claimed ₦800 billion was unlawfully withheld from state allocations. He called the off‑budget spending “the most consequential act of fiscal impunity” in recent Nigerian history and demanded an urgent, independent investigation.

Opposition groups, including a PDP faction, the NDC diaspora in Sweden, and the Kwankwasiyya movement, have joined calls for a transparent audit, independent probe and accountability, warning that the scandal undermines institutional credibility and could hurt foreign investor confidence. Atiku also gave Tinubu a seven‑day deadline to launch an independent inquiry into the PFIPC matter.