Lawyer describes bribery allegation against Gbajabiamila as ‘national embarrassment’

Legal practitioner Frank Tietie has described the bribery allegation involving the Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila, as a major institutional failure, calling on the National Assembly to scrutinise the matter.

 

Speaking on Arise Television on Thursday, Tietie said the allegation, if supported by an independent investigation, would raise serious constitutional questions.

 

His comments followed claims by Adeniyi Adeyemi, who allegedly presented himself as the Director-General of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), that Gbajabiamila received N400 million through a proxy and demanded an additional N200 million to facilitate his appointment.

 

The Presidency has denied the allegation, insisting that the Chief of Staff neither issues appointment letters nor has the authority to make appointments into government agencies.

 

Reacting to the controversy, Tietie said:

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

The matter remains under investigation by security agencies, while the Presidency has maintained that Gbajabiamila had no involvement in the alleged fraudulent scheme.