PFIPC scandal: Nigerians won’t trust govt if Gbajabiamila doesn’t step aside – Laolu Akande

A former presidential spokesperson has added his voice to those urging the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, to vacate his office following the unfolding fake agency controversy.
 

Laolu Akande expressed this view during a Thursday, July 16 broadcast of Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily program. His comments came in response to the recent detention of Adeniyi Adeyemi, who has been parading himself as the Director-General of the disputed Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC).
 

Speaking on the expectations of public officials in such circumstances, Akande remarked, “Gbajabiamila holds it to himself, his family, the President and Nigerians, to step aside. It is just the common human decent thing to do.”
 

He pointed out that the arrested suspect has publicly denied having any hand in how the unapproved body was slipped into the national financial planning. Regarding these claims, Akande noted, “Adeyemi has told Nigerians that he knew nothing about the itemizing of the ‘fake’ agency in the budget. I’m not saying what he said is true or not true.”
 

The former aide maintained that keeping high-ranking officials in power during such heavy accusations severely undermines the integrity of the administration. He raised critical questions about public perception, asking, “You cannot have somebody making those huge significant claims about those that are in government and then the people are still sitting there. How do you ever think it will create an impression of trust?”
 

He added, “How do you think that people will consider that the investigation that the President has ordered is going to be fair if they are still there?”