PFIPC scandal: Fresh documents show SGF’s office approved Adeyemi’s Canada trip

Fresh documents show the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation approved Adeniyi Adeyemi’s attendance at a Canada Fintech summit in August 2025, deepening the PFIPC scandal as Atiku Abubakar accuses the Tinubu administration of normalising governance scandals.

The PFIPC scandal just got another twist — and this time, it’s the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF) in the spotlight.

Fresh documents obtained by Vanguard show that the OSGF approved the disowned Director-General of the non-existent Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), Adeniyi Adeyemi, to attend the Canada-Africa Fintech Summit (CAFS) in August 2025.

The document, signed by Permanent Secretary, Political and Economic Affairs Office, Engr. Nadungu Gagare, on behalf of the SGF, approved Adeyemi’s trip to Canada from August 3-8, 2025, directing him to register and involve other stakeholders in the programme.

It read in part: “In accordance with Mr President’s Economic Strategies on the Agenda. I invite you to participate in and join the Nigerian delegation to Canada… Given the above, you are urgently requested to register and involve other stakeholders in the programme. Your experience, technical support, and presence will strengthen this delegation.”

Meanwhile, SERAP has urged Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Speaker Tajudeen Abbas to disclose certified documents relating to the N1.3 billion allocated to PFIPC in the 2026 Appropriation Act, while also calling on the DSS, Nigeria Police and EFCC to identify and prosecute government officials who allegedly assisted Adeyemi.

Reacting to the development, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar slammed the Tinubu administration, saying scandals have become a recurring feature of governance rather than isolated incidents. In a statement by his aide, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said: “The issue is no longer one scandal or another. The issue is the pattern. And when scandals become a pattern of governance, the inevitable conclusion is this: you are no longer managing scandals; you have become the scandal itself.”

He cited the Humanitarian Affairs scandal, crude oil theft allegations, refinery rehabilitation spending, and opaque procurement processes as part of the pattern, adding, “The pattern itself has become the scandal.”