Gbajabiamila: ‘Huge Intelligence Failure, Tinubu Should Be Queried’ — Frank Tietie

Legal practitioner Frank Tietie has described the controversy surrounding the alleged bribery involving the Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila, as a major institutional failure, calling on the National Assembly to question the President over the development.

Tietie made the remarks during an interview on Arise Television on Thursday while reacting to allegations made by Adeyemi Adeniyi, who presented himself as the Director-General of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC).

Adeniyi had alleged that Gbajabiamila received N400 million through a proxy and later demanded an additional N200 million to facilitate his appointment as head of the council.

The Presidency has since dismissed the allegations, insisting that the PFIPC is a fictitious organisation and that the Chief of Staff neither issues appointments nor has the authority to create government agencies.

Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga had earlier clarified that the office of the Chief of Staff first raised concerns about the existence of the purported council after complaints from the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission.

Despite the Presidency’s position, Tietie said the incident raises serious concerns about the country’s intelligence and administrative systems.

“We are witnessing the institutional destruction of our country. This is a huge intelligence failure on a national scale,” he said.

According to the lawyer, if an independent investigation establishes that such an organisation operated without the knowledge or approval of the Presidency, it would amount to a significant failure of governance.

He further argued that if the President was aware of the activities and allowed them to continue, such conduct would amount to a serious constitutional issue.

“If there is an independent report and the President tolerated this, it is an impeachable offence,” Tietie stated.

He also criticised the National Assembly for failing to scrutinise the matter more closely.

“If the National Assembly wasn’t playing along with the President, it should have queried him. This is an embarrassment,” he added.

The allegations have continued to generate public debate, with security agencies already investigating claims surrounding the alleged council and its activities, while the Presidency maintains that the organisation has no legal recognition and that the accusations against Gbajabiamila are baseless.