ICPC QUESTIONS FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF OVER PFIPC SCANDAL AS FG PUSHES PUBLIC SECTOR REFORM

ICPC QUESTIONS FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF OVER PFIPC SCANDAL AS FG PUSHES PUBLIC SECTOR REFORM

ABUJA, Wednesday July 22, 2026

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission on Monday invited former Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, for questioning over the PFIPC scandal, a case that has put the spotlight on how public sector welfare funds were managed between 2023 and 2025. The development came on the same day a Federal High Court in Abuja granted bail to Bello Bodejo, President of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, who has been in detention since January, and as the Federal Government rolled out new guidelines to tighten oversight of social intervention spending. 

According to ICPC officials, the probe centers on alleged mismanagement and diversion of funds earmarked for the Public Sector Financial Inclusion and Protection Programme, PFIPC. The programme was designed to provide low-interest loans, health insurance subsidies, and emergency grants to civil servants, teachers, nurses and other public workers. More than ₦420 billion was budgeted for it across two fiscal years. ICPC said preliminary audits found discrepancies in beneficiary lists, delayed disbursements, and contracts awarded without due process. 

Gbajabiamila arrived at the ICPC headquarters in Abuja at about 10:30am and spent nearly 6 hours with investigators. His lawyers said he appeared voluntarily and provided documents to clarify his role as Chief of Staff during the period in question. “He is cooperating fully and has nothing to hide,” one of his lawyers told reporters outside the commission. ICPC did not detain him but said the investigation is ongoing and that more officials will be invited. 

The commission also requested documents from the Central Bank and the Office of the Head of Service. Sources within ICPC said the focus is on how PFIPC funds moved from the treasury to implementing agencies, and whether due diligence was done on the fintech companies and microfinance banks that were contracted to disburse loans. Auditors have flagged that more than 200,000 names on the beneficiary register could not be verified, and that some payments were made to accounts that were opened just weeks before disbursement. 

The case has generated strong reactions across the civil service. The Nigeria Labour Congress said it welcomes the probe and called for a full public report. “Public workers were told this programme would ease their hardship. If the money was stolen, they deserve to know who did it and how it will be recovered,” NLC President said in a statement. The Trade Union Congress also demanded that no future social programme be run without biometric verification and real-time tracking. 

The PFIPC scandal comes at a sensitive time for the Tinubu administration. The government has spent the last two years arguing that subsidy removal and tax reforms were necessary to free up money for social spending and infrastructure. To prove that, it launched several direct intervention programmes in 2024. PFIPC was the biggest. It was supposed to reach 2 million public sector workers with loans of up to ₦2 million at 5% interest, plus health insurance for families earning below a certain threshold. 

If the allegations are true, it means that a programme meant to cushion the impact of reforms may have been undermined by the same inefficiencies the reforms were meant to fix. That is why the presidency has moved quickly to distance itself. A statement from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation on Monday said the administration has zero tolerance for corruption and will support ICPC to “follow the facts wherever they lead.” 

Back at ICPC, officials said the PFIPC investigation will look at three tracks. First, procurement. Who approved the contracts for payment platforms and how were vendors selected? Second, disbursement. Were loans actually paid to real civil servants, and what systems were used to verify identity? Third, recovery. Can money be traced and retrieved from accounts that received fraudulent payments? The commission said it is working with the EFCC and with the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit to trace funds that may have moved offshore. 

Public reaction has been mixed. In ministries in Abuja, many civil servants said they applied for PFIPC loans in 2024 but never received them. Some said they were asked to pay “processing fees” to middlemen. Others said their names appeared on a list but the money never came. A nurse at the National Hospital told reporters she submitted her documents three times and got no response. “We were hopeful,” she said. “Now we just want answers.” 

The government has responded by announcing new safeguards. The Minister of Finance, Taiwo Oyedele, said yesterday that all future social intervention programmes will be run through a single digital portal linked to NIN, BVN and the IPPIS payroll system. Payments will be made directly to beneficiaries, with SMS alerts and a public dashboard showing how much was disbursed and to whom. “We are moving from promises to proof,” he said. 

Experts say the PFIPC case will test the administration’s commitment to transparency. Dr. Aisha Mohammed, a public policy analyst at ABU Zaria, said the problem with many Nigerian social programmes is not the design but the implementation. “There is always a gap between policy and delivery. Middlemen, ghost beneficiaries, and weak oversight eat up the money. If ICPC can close that gap, it will restore confidence,” she said. 

The political dimension is also important. With 2027 approaching, the administration needs visible wins in the social sector. An unresolved scandal around a flagship welfare programme would give opponents ammunition. That is why the presidency has been careful to say this is about accountability, not about targeting individuals. 

For now, the investigation continues. ICPC said it will invite more former and serving officials in the coming weeks, including directors in the Office of the Head of Service and executives of the payment companies involved. It also said it will publish an interim report within 60 days.