President Bola Tinubu has appointed his Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, as Chairman of the newly inaugurated Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill. The appointment comes days after Tinubu directed the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate allegations surrounding the alleged phantom Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), which Gbajabiamila has been linked to. The Presidency had earlier cleared Gbajabiamila of any involvement in the PFIPC saga, stating that President Tinubu never created the council and that the Chief of Staff did not appoint its self-proclaimed Director-General, Adeniyi Adeyemi.
Adeyemi has claimed the council operated with official backing and implicated Gbajabiamila in its activities. Gbajabiamila, through his lawyers, has dismissed the allegations as false, malicious and defamatory, demanding a public apology and threatening to sue for N10 billion in damages. The controversy intensified when reports revealed that N1.3 billion was allocated to the PFIPC in the 2026 Appropriation Act, despite the Presidency's assertion that the council does not exist. The National Assembly later explained the budget entry, but public scrutiny deepened, prompting Tinubu's directive for the ICPC to probe the matter and submit findings within 30 days.
Gbajabiamila was seen alongside President Tinubu during the inauguration of the policing reform committee, an appearance interpreted by some as a show of continued confidence. While the Presidency maintains the ICPC investigation targets those behind the alleged fake council and potential fraud, not Gbajabiamila, critics have pointed to the contrast with the handling of former Secretary to the Government of the Federation Babachir Lawal under ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, who was asked to step aside during a similar probe in 2017.
The President cleared his Chief of Staff of wrongdoing while also ordering an investigation into a scandal the aide is publicly tied to, creating a contradiction in posture. Appointing Gbajabiamila to lead a major reform while an ICPC probe unfolds suggests the outcome of the investigation may not affect his standing. This undermines public trust in the independence of the probe, especially when past precedent saw a similarly accused official temporarily removed. Nigerians named in the PFIPC allegations now face uncertainty over whether the process will treat all parties equally.
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