PFIPC scandal has unsettled Tinubu Government as Gbajabiamila and Adeyemi face ICPC probe following the President’s order.
NewsOnline Nigeria reports that President Bola Tinubu is facing mounting pressure over the controversy surrounding the alleged Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), an agency the Presidency insists was never created, even as the man claiming to have headed the council has offered to submit himself to security agencies and challenged the government to explain how the body appeared in the national budget.
The controversy escalated on Tuesday after the Presidency directed the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the activities of the purported council and submit its findings within 30 days.
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However, the alleged Director-General of the PFIPC, Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, has insisted he is prepared to cooperate fully with investigators, saying he will hand over all documents in his possession to either the Department of State Services or the Nigeria Police Force to establish the truth.
Presidency declares PFIPC non-existent
In a statement issued by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the Presidency maintained that the PFIPC has no legal existence.
According to the statement, the council was never established by the Federal Government and has no basis in any law, executive approval, presidential instrument or any other lawful government action.
The Presidency alleged that Adeyemi falsely presented himself as the Director-General of the council and claimed to have been appointed by President Tinubu.
Among the issues the ICPC has been asked to investigate are alleged forged appointment letters, falsified government documents, claims of presidential appointment used to obtain diplomatic support and visa facilitation, as well as the opening of multiple bank accounts in the names of purported government agencies using allegedly forged documents.
President Tinubu also directed investigators to determine whether any public officials, financial institutions, intermediaries or private individuals facilitated the alleged scheme and to identify institutional weaknesses that allowed the purported council to appear legitimate.
Adeyemi offers to surrender to DSS
Speaking during a live conversation with social media activist VeryDarkMan, Adeyemi said he would voluntarily report to the DSS or the police with every document relating to the PFIPC.
According to him, investigators should authenticate the documents and determine how the council emerged and who facilitated its operations.
“I’m willing and ready to help security agencies or any panel set up by Mr President to unravel the truth. Any moment from now, I will go to the DSS or the police and submit all the documents I have. They should authenticate them, verify them and unravel the truth,” he said.
‘How did a non-existent agency get into the national budget?’
Adeyemi also questioned how the PFIPC was included in the national budget if, as the Presidency claims, the agency never existed.
He maintained that he could not have influenced the budget process because he was in police detention during the period the federal budget was being prepared.
According to him, he was invited by the Nigeria Police over a petition allegedly filed by the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, on October 27 and remained in detention for 23 days before being arraigned in court.
He claimed that by the time he regained his freedom, the office previously allocated to the PFIPC had already been reassigned to another government official.
Adeyemi argued that the bigger question is how an agency whose budget was allegedly never defended before the National Assembly eventually appeared in the Appropriation Act signed into law.
Dispute between Adeyemi and Gbajabiamila
The controversy centres on conflicting claims by the Presidency and Adeyemi.
Earlier, Gbajabiamila publicly warned diplomatic missions, development partners, financial institutions and the general public against dealing with Adeyemi, describing him as an impostor and insisting that no agency known as the PFIPC exists under the Tinubu administration.
Meanwhile, Adeyemi is currently standing trial before the Federal High Court in Abuja on charges bordering on conspiracy, forgery and impersonation. The Federal Government has listed Gbajabiamila and 10 others as prosecution witnesses.
Atiku aide demands suspension of Gbajabiamila
Reacting to the investigation, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar‘s media aide, Paul Ibe, urged President Tinubu to suspend Gbajabiamila and other individuals allegedly linked to the controversy pending the conclusion of the probe.
According to Ibe, allowing key figures to remain in office while investigations continue could undermine the credibility and independence of the process.
Lawyers, analysts seek thorough investigation
Human rights lawyer Maximus Ugwuoke backed the President’s decision to order an investigation, saying the probe should establish whether any criminal offences were committed and expose institutional weaknesses that may have enabled the alleged fraud.
While defending Tinubu’s decision not to suspend Gbajabiamila immediately, Ugwuoke argued that any public official found culpable after the investigation should face appropriate legal and disciplinary action.
Political analyst Nduka Odo questioned whether Adeyemi could have acted alone, arguing that establishing an office, recruiting personnel and securing budgetary allocations would likely have required support from influential figures within government.
He said the investigation should identify everyone involved rather than focusing solely on Adeyemi.
Rights group asks National Assembly to explain budget approval
Also weighing in, President of the Civil Rights Realisation and Advancement Network, Olu Omotayo, said the controversy raises serious questions about the integrity of Nigeria’s budget process.
Omotayo argued that if the Presidency maintains the PFIPC never existed, then the National Assembly should explain how a budget allocation for the agency was approved.
He urged lawmakers to support a transparent investigation, warning that the controversy has already cast doubt on the credibility of key public institutions.
With President Tinubu’s 30-day deadline now in effect, the ICPC investigation is expected to determine not only whether the PFIPC was an elaborate fraud but also whether failures within government institutions enabled the alleged scheme to flourish.
