Atiku Urges NASS To Summon CBN Governor, Accountant-General Over PFIPC Accounts

By Sabiu Abdullahi

The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has called on the National Assembly to invite the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF) to explain what he described as conflicting accounts over the bank accounts of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC).

Atiku made the demand in a statement issued on Wednesday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu. He argued that the contradictory positions taken by the CBN and the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) have raised serious concerns about the credibility of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

According to the former vice-president, the testimony presented by the CBN before the House of Representatives differs sharply from the earlier position of the OAGF regarding the opening of the PFIPC accounts.

He alleged that the conflicting explanations point to an effort to conceal the circumstances surrounding the accounts.

“This is where the cover-up appears to begin. One institution denied authorising the opening of the PFIPC accounts and alleged forgery,” he said.


“Another, before the representatives of the Nigerian people, stated that the accounts were opened on the directive of the Accountant-General after due process was followed. Both accounts cannot be true.”



Atiku also said the inconsistencies have left the administration caught in what he described as a “web of deception.”

“When two of your most sensitive financial and monetary authorities publicly contradict each other on the same transaction, no serious leader needs a clairvoyant to know that his administration is trapped in a web of deception and a profound crisis of credibility,” he stated.



“The President cannot continue to watch from the sidelines while his government tears itself apart with conflicting narratives.”



The ADC presidential candidate challenged President Tinubu to state which account of events he accepts.

“President Tinubu must answer a simple question: Which version does he believe—the Accountant-General’s or the Central Bank’s? If he believes neither, why has he not acted?” he said.



“Every day he delays ordering a truly independent investigation, he deepens public suspicion that preserving his administration’s image has taken precedence over establishing the truth.”



Atiku further argued that the silence of the Attorney-General of the Federation has worsened the controversy.

“The continued silence of the Attorney-General of the Federation, the nation’s chief law officer, only compounds this credibility crisis and reinforces the perception that this administration is more interested in containing the political fallout than uncovering the truth,” he stated.



He urged the National Assembly to invite both the CBN governor and the Accountant-General to appear together before its investigative committee under oath.

“If a single individual could allegedly orchestrate a scheme that has thrown two of Nigeria’s most critical financial and monetary authorities into public contradiction, Nigerians are entitled to ask how many other abuses may have escaped detection because of weak oversight and institutional failure,” he said.



Atiku also called on President Tinubu to order an independent investigation into the matter.