Just In: Gbajabiamila Told to Step Aside as Chief of Staff Over 'Fake' Agency Scandal
- A prominent lawyer called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's chief of staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, to step aside amid the PFIPC controversy
- On Tuesday, July 7, President Tinubu asked the ICPC to investigate the scandal and submit a report to him in 30 days
- The controversy stemmed from a N10 billion lawsuit linked to the alleged fictitious government body and allegations connecting the chief of staff to the council
FCT, Abuja - A legal practitioner, Liborous Oshoma, has called on Femi Gbajabiamila, the chief of staff (CoS) to President Bola Tinubu, to temporarily vacate his position.
Oshoma asked the former House of Representatives Speaker to allow a thorough forensic audit of his CoS office in connection with the ongoing Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) controversy.
Source: Twitter
The activist made the call on Tuesday, July 8, 2026, in a video interview with News Central TV, monitored by Legit.ng.
Liborous said:
“With all due respect to the chief of staff, I think that defamation suit is jumpy. It is hasty. It is preemptive.
"There are allegations. The man (Adeniyi Adeyemi) said, I spoke with this man (Gbajabiamila) through the phone. The man said, I spoke to him through a friend's phone. And the friend is late.
"The president has said, investigate the matter. I also believe that the chief of staff and some persons in his office and other places should step aside. Let there be a forensic, not just an honorary, forensic detail audit investigation, including retrieving of phones of these persons so that you can conduct a forensic analysis of all of these phones."
Oshoma continued:
"If it is now established with concrete evidence that certainly all of these allegations of, 'oh, I sent money to this person, I didn't send money to this person', or that there was no dealings at all. Then you cannot begin to say, 'well, this man has soiled my name', I waited for an investigation, a holistic investigation to establish the fact, and then I'm going to take further civil action.
"But at this stage, when the president, because first and foremost, they hurriedly charged the man (Adeyemi). So you ask yourself, what did they investigate to have charged him for impersonation?”
What the PFIPC scandal is about?
The PFIPC controversy centres on allegations that Gbajabiamila was connected to a fictitious government body known as the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council. A N10 billion lawsuit has been filed in relation to the matter, and the fallout has drawn significant public and legal scrutiny to the chief of staff's office.
The police have launched a manhunt for Adeniyi Adeyemi, who had been presenting himself as the 'PFIPC director general', on suspicion of forgery, impersonation and related offences.
Before going into hiding, Adeyemi told local media that he was innocent and now feared for his life.
He also promised to show up in court to clear his name, saying the body was lawfully established. He accused senior government officials of demanding bribes during the process of his appointment and later attempting to take control of the council's funds. The presidency has denied those allegations.
Lawyer wades into Gbajabiamila-Adeyemi saga
Speaking in the video interview, Liborous argued that a step-aside arrangement would be the most credible path to restoring public confidence, and that a forensic audit covering the chief of staff and relevant members of his office was necessary to establish the full facts of the case.
Liborous, also a public and social affairs commentator, stated:
“The agency (PFIPC) found its way into your national budget that was signed. The budget was prepared between September and December. The man (Adeyemi) was arrested and charged in November 27th, and the budget was presented December 9th. That is after the man had been charged. That line item was still in the budget. The budget was assented to in August 17th. The item was still in the budget. So now, you say the agency is non-existent, but the non-existent agencies had a line item in the budget.
"So the president has said, now conduct an investigation.
"You will ask yourself, what was investigated before when the man was charged? That's a different ball game. Now the man (Adeyemi) has said, 'oh, I spoke with him (Gbajabiamila) on the phone'. That does not take away the allegation. The man didn't say, 'oh, I didn't speak to him'. That would have exonerated him (Gbajabiamila) from all of these allegations.
Oshoma, therefore, urged the chief of staff to the president to temporarily step aside to allow an independent investigation into the PFIPC controversy, arguing that his continued stay in office could undermine a consequential probe.
His words:
"So this attempt at trying to cover for him (Gbajabiamila), 'oh, now the man has backtracked'. The man never said that he met with him one-on-one. In all his videos that I've listened to, in his press release, he never said he met with him one-on-one. So now, he said he spoke with him. So, in conducting further investigation, certainly the ICPC are not going to gloss over all of those statements, whether the man has met him one-on-one or spoke with him.
"That is why forensic analysis of telephones also will need to come in. But if he's seated there as the chief of staff, certainly how do you expect the ICPC, and now he has been appointed, to head a police committee. How do you expect the ICPC to do a thorough job with that kind of, you know, in that kind of office?”
Watch the full interview on X on News Central TV's post:
Source: Facebook
Read more on Gbajabiamila
- “Social media must be regulated”: Tinubu’s CoS Gbajabiamila gives reason
- Amid Tinubu’s absence, Gbajabiamila, Ribadu, ministers meet over protests, food crisis
- Gbajabiamila: Group reacts to allegation linking Tinubu’s chief of staff to Betta Edu’s scandal
Adeyemi: Gbajabiamila talks tough
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Gbajabiamila gave Adeyemi 72 hours to withdraw what he described as false and defamatory allegations made against him in a widely circulated press conference or face both civil and criminal legal action.
Gbajabiamila, through his solicitors, Pinheiro LP, also demanded a public apology, the removal of the alleged defamatory publications from all media platforms, and a written undertaking that no further allegations would be made against him.
The demands are contained in a cease-and-desist letter by Kemi Pinheiro (SAN) on behalf of the law firm.
Source: Legit.ng
