A support group of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), the Grassroots Mobilization Network (GMN), has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to direct his Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, to resign and submit to what it described as an independent investigation over allegations of corruption allegedly linked to activities within the Presidency.
The group also rejected a recent statement by presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, dismissing reports surrounding Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi and certain presidential councils, describing the official response as inadequate and misleading.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Friday by its Deputy Secretary, Abubakar Sadiq Lwafu , GMN said allowing a thorough investigation would help clear lingering doubts and protect the integrity of the Presidency.
“Gbajabiamila has to resign or be directed by the President to resign to allow a full and independent investigation into allegations of corruption and the activities of a purported fake agency, as well as save the Presidential Villa from further opprobrium,” Lwafu stated.
“The honourable thing to do is for Femi Gbajabiamila to resign. Nigeria is not yet a banana republic. Too many scandals have ravaged this government, but this one should not be swept under the carpet,” he added.
The group further alleged that President Tinubu’s administration had failed to address critical concerns raised by Nigerians and urged citizens to remain vigilant ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Lwafu also claimed that Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi was being unfairly singled out, insisting that available documents and videos in the public domain suggested that he had been duly appointed and had carried out official government responsibilities.
According to him, Adeyemi operated from an office within the Federal Secretariat with personnel allegedly paid from public funds, including allocations connected to the Central Bank of Nigeria.
He maintained that only an independent investigative panel made up of individuals of proven integrity could establish the truth surrounding the controversy.
“Without a proper investigation panel headed by well-meaning Nigerians of high integrity, nobody will accept the Presidency’s denial,” he said, while urging Nigerians to support the ADC in the 2027 elections.
Lwafu was reacting to a statement issued on Friday by presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, who dismissed reports identifying Adeniyi Adeyemi as Director-General of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council and the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, describing such claims as false.
However, the GMN questioned how Adeyemi allegedly obtained an appointment letter, gazette notice and budgetary allocations if, as claimed by the Presidency, the position did not exist.
“The denial by the President’s spokesman that the Director-General, Adeniyi Adeyemi, is fake is unacceptable. Nigerians need the truth and nothing but the truth,” Lawfu stated.
The group disclosed that it plans to petition the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission this week to verify the existence and legal status of the councils in question.
It also called for the publication of any legal instruments establishing the bodies, including appointment documents, gazette notices and relevant budgetary records.
The Presidency has maintained that the reports concerning Adeyemi and the councils are false and that no such official appointments exist.
