BY BALIKIS OLAIDE
Former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, Timi Frank, has called for a thorough forensic probe of how the principal intermediary in the appointment and bribery controversy, Dolapo Babatunde Tanimola, died mysteriously.
Frank, in a statement on Friday, said for accountability’s sake, the parents, family members, relatives, and the nation at large deserve to know what led to Tanimola’s death at a time when his presence would have helped to uncover the truths in the current president Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s government.
The presidency had, in a statement by Bayo Onanuga, dismissed allegations against the chief of staff to the president, Femi Gbajabiamila, over the scandalous activities of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, PFIPC, and its director general, Adeniyi Adeyemi.
Reacting, Frank said the presidency claimed that the police confirmed that Mr. Tanimola died in a hotel in Abuja five days before Prince Adeyemi was arrested.
Frank said the circumstances leading to Tanimola’s death must be uncovered and unraveled because he was identified as an intermediary and go-between for Prince Adeyemi in the bribery and appointment scandal involving the chief of staff to the president, Femi Gbajabiamila.
Frank called on the international community, including the United States of America, the European Union, and other technologically developed nations, to help Nigeria unravel the true circumstances behind the current monumental corruption rocking Nigeria.
According to him, it is impossible for an ordinary citizen to boldly operate and enjoy government patronages, including having an annual allocation; a secured office at the Federal Secretariat; representing the nation at foreign events; and hosting National Assembly leadership, the EFCC boss, and foreign ambassadors, among others, without having the backing of the presidency.
The political activist believes such an agency could not have existed, opened an account with the CBN, got an allocation, recruited staff, and operated from the government building without the knowledge of the presidency.
He said, “By now, we expected the Office of the Chief of Staff, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), the Central Bank, the Budget Office, the National Assembly, and the relevant security agencies to be answering uncomfortable questions.
“Despite widespread claims that the agency Prince Adeyemi ran did not legally exist, there is information in the public domain that the purported Director General of the Presidential Foreign Intervention and Promotion Council enjoyed six police officers as escorts, official vehicles, and even an official residence.
“There were also media reports this Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led administration granted a waiver to PFIPC under Prince Adeyemi to recruit 300 members of staff in August 2025.
“The media reports revealed that Mimi Abu, director, organization design and development, in the office of the head of the civil service of the federation, conveyed the government’s approval for recruitment in a letter dated August 7, 2025.”