Wike defends Gbajabiamila over PFIPC controversy, says ‘I know him very well’

Nyesom Wike, minister for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), says that it is impossible that Femi Gbajabiamila, chief of staff to President Bola Tinubu, had any involvement in the row relating to the supposed presidential foreign intervention promotion council (PFIPC).

This was said by Wike on Thursday at his monthly media briefing in Abuja amid allegations from Adeniyi Adeyemi that Gbajabiamila knew about the controversial council.

This prompted President Bola Tinubu to order the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to carry out an investigation into the issue.

Earlier, former vice-president, Atiku Abubakar, had urged the opposition parties to monitor the investigation as the federal government could not be allowed to investigate itself.

Commenting on the stand of Atiku, Wike turned down the call and said that he is convinced of the integrity of the chief of staff to the president.

“The demand by Atiku is rubbish. Without any prejudice, I know the chief of staff very, very well. He did not. Without prejudice…. there are people you target in government, to give bad name to your boss,” he said.

“This is chief of staff. This is the person who is in charge of finance and secretary to government. If you want to embarrass any government, these are the targets first.

“Chief of Staff is seen as someone who, if we get to him, the government will be embarrassed.

“Does it make sense? An agency that does not exist, that you will tell him to give him so and so amount of money. I mean, it’s madness.”

He asked why Adeyemi, who made such an allegation against the minister, did not expose himself to the relevant investigative authorities rather than hiding from public glare.

Wike said he understood why the allegations are being levelled against him because he had similarly been a victim of allegations ever since he assumed the role of minister for FCT.

One of the allegations he said against him was that one of his sons received two million dollars in order to allocate some land in Abuja and described it as an attempt to defame his good name.

According to him, he quickly handed the case to security authorities, who arrested the person that made the allegation against him.

He said the allegation turned out to be baseless, considering that investigations proved otherwise through records retrieved from British Airways indicating that his son had left the country before the time when the transaction was said to have occurred.

According to him, some individuals had suggested that he should resolve the matter discreetly in order to save himself from being humiliated in public due to his position, but he turned down their suggestions and said that he would not be blackmailed.

The issue of PFIPC has received some publicity after the presidency called it a fictional institution.

At present, Adeyemi is undergoing trial at a federal high court in Abuja due to charges of forgery, impersonation, among others, as a result of his appointment as director general of the PFIPC.