CNPP demands Tinubu sack top officials over N1.3bn “fake agency” scandal, threatens resignation call

Opposition coalition says inclusion of non-existent agency in 2026 budget is “greatest self-inflicted embarrassment” in democratic history_

 

The Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) has demanded the immediate sack of top government officials and threatened to call for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s resignation over the handling of the multi-billion naira “fake agency” scandal now rocking the Federal Government.

In a scathing statement on Sunday, the CNPP described the controversy surrounding the purported Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council as “one of the greatest self-inflicted international embarrassments in Nigeria’s democratic history.”

—-“A scandal and an indictment”—

The group said it watched with “deep shock, profound disappointment and growing national embarrassment” as the Presidency publicly declared the agency “fake” or “fictitious,” despite the same body being captured in the 2026 Appropriation Act signed into law by President Tinubu.

According to CNPP, for months one Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew allegedly operated the non-existent agency from office space inside the Federal Secretariat in Abuja, held meetings with ambassadors and foreign nationals, corresponded with government institutions, and even opened bank accounts including one with the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Documents later showed the same agency was allocated over N1.3 billion in the 2026 budget for salaries, allowances and a proposed World Investment Summit.

“This is not merely a scandal; it is an indictment of the entire machinery of government,” the CNPP stated.

—“You cannot nullify a law by press statement”–

The opposition coalition argued that a federal budget does not “write itself” and passes through the Budget Office, Federal Executive Council, National Assembly and presidential assent.

“Consequently, the Federal Government cannot, in one breath, sign an Appropriation Act containing an agency and, in another breath, issue a press statement declaring the same agency ‘fake,’ ‘illegal’ or ‘non-existent,’” CNPP said.

The group insisted that by virtue of its inclusion in the signed 2026 Appropriation Act, the agency had legal recognition for the budget year until amended by the National Assembly.

“No government can invalidate an Act of Parliament through a press statement. To do so is to ridicule the National Assembly and project Nigeria before the international community as a Banana Republic where state institutions have collapsed,” it added.

—“Sack them or Tinubu must resign”—

CNPP demanded the immediate resignation or sack of all officials whose “actions and inactions” enabled the scandal. Those listed include:

1. The Chief of Staff to the President
2. The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria
3. Officials in the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation
4. Officials in the Budget Office of the Federation
5. Members of the Federal Executive Council
6. Ministers and heads of agencies who processed documents relating to the agency
7. Principal officers and committee chairmen in the National Assembly who handled the budget

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The group said if President Tinubu fails to act, “he must take full responsibility for this unprecedented governance failure and tender his resignation.”

“As Chairman of the Federal Executive Council that scrutinized the budget proposal and as the President who personally signed the 2026 Appropriation Act into law, President Tinubu cannot escape responsibility,” CNPP declared.

—7-point demand—

The CNPP also demanded:
1. Immediate scrapping of the agency
2. Transmission of an Executive Bill to the National Assembly to amend the 2026 budget
3. Establishment of an independent judicial commission of inquiry
4. Publication of all records relating to the agency
5. Prosecution of all persons found culpable

—“This is a defining moment”—

The coalition warned that foreign investors are now asking “uncomfortable questions” about Nigeria’s governance safeguards.

“A country that punishes only the alleged frontman while shielding the powerful enablers behind the scenes is not fighting corruption; it is merely managing corruption,” the statement said.

“This scandal has become a defining moment for the APC administration. The Nigerian people deserve answers. They deserve accountability. They deserve a government that will not turn the country into a global symbol of institutional failure.”

Signed:
Comrade James Ezema
Deputy National Publicity Secretary
Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP)
July 5, 2026