Court proceedings in the alleged Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council scandal are expected to continue on July 27, 2026, as Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, the alleged convener of the purported agency, insisted that he was duly issued an appointment letter and was ready to face the law.
Adeyemi is facing an eight-count charge before the Federal High Court in Abuja over allegations of conspiracy, forgery and impersonation in connection with the alleged operation of the purported Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, PFIPC.
The Presidency, through a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said the Police filed the charge against Adeyemi and two alleged accomplices on November 27, 2025.
According to Onanuga, the Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila, had in October 2025 alerted the Department of State Services and the Nigeria Police Force after complaints emerged that the alleged agency was operating alongside the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission.
The Presidency said forged appointment letters bearing Gbajabiamila’s signature, reference numbers and official seals were allegedly used to give legitimacy to the purported agency.
Onanuga said Adeyemi was arrested in Abuja on October 27, 2025, and that forged documents were recovered during searches of his office and residence.
He stated that police investigations allegedly established that the agency Adeyemi purportedly headed was fictitious, that he forged his appointment letter and other documents, and that he falsely paraded himself as a government appointee.
The Presidency also alleged that Adeyemi solicited a note verbale from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to enable him and some purported staff members to obtain United States visas.
Onanuga further said Adeyemi told the Police that one Dolapo Babatunde Tanimola assisted him in procuring the alleged fake appointment letter, but that investigators later discovered that Tanimola had died in a fire incident at Kachi Hotel, Abuja, on October 22, five days before Adeyemi’s arrest.
The Presidency had earlier, on June 11, 2026, issued a disclaimer through Gbajabiamila, stating that the purported Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council did not exist under the Tinubu administration and that no appointment was made in favour of Adeyemi.
However, Adeyemi has rejected the Presidency’s position, insisting that he received an appointment letter and that Gbajabiamila was aware of his appointment.
Appearing on television, Adeyemi said he was not running away from the law and was prepared to defend himself in court.
“Definitely, if I am wrong, let the court of law do that; if I am right, let the court of law do the right thing,” he said.
He added that since the matter was already before the court, the court should determine the truth.
“I have a letter of appointment. However, since the matter is in the court, I won’t be able to say much about it,” he said.
When asked whether Gbajabiamila had knowledge of his appointment, Adeyemi answered in the affirmative.
He also questioned the claim that the agency did not exist, asking how it allegedly appeared in the 2026 national budget if it was truly fictitious.
Findings reportedly showed that the alleged Presidential Economic Advisory Council/Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council was allocated ₦1.302 billion in the 2026 federal budget.
According to the budget details, the allocation was listed under the Presidency with Code Number 0111062001 and Expenditure Item Number 18.
The report stated that ₦802.978 million was allocated for personnel, ₦200 million for overhead and ₦300 million for capital expenditure.
Adeyemi, in his response, said he would not be intimidated or discredited without answering the allegations.
“I will not be intimidated because intimidation I condone not. I will not be discredited without response because you cannot beat a child and expect him/her not to cry,” he said.
He argued that the controversy had moved beyond personalities and now raised questions about institutional processes, budgetary lines and official communications.
“How did the agency’s name get into the 2026 appropriation budget pages 50 and 51? If the agency does not exist, yet found its way into the Nigerian national budget, what that means is that the entire 2026 Appropriation Act is a fraud and should be discarded,” he said.
He further claimed that the same agency described as non-existent had domiciliary, pounds and Treasury Single Account accounts domiciled with the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Adeyemi maintained that he could not have moved around government institutions for nearly three years if the agency did not exist.
“Would I have the temerity, the audacity, to be going all over the country, meeting the head of ministry, department and agency, if I know that the agency does not exist?” he asked.
Meanwhile, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has described the controversy as evidence of institutional failure under the Tinubu administration.
In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said the Presidency’s explanation raised more questions than answers.
He said the official account required Nigerians to believe that one private citizen single-handedly forged presidential documents, impersonated senior officials, secured office space inside the Federal Secretariat, opened several accounts bearing government identities, hosted foreign ambassadors and inserted a purported agency into the national budget without insider assistance.
Atiku questioned how an allegedly fictitious agency could appear in the national budget and be allocated public funds.
“If the agency was fictitious, who prepared the budget estimates bearing its name? Which ministry submitted them? Which officials defended those estimates before the National Assembly? Which committees scrutinised them? Which lawmakers approved them? Who inserted the allocation into the Appropriation Bill? And ultimately, who signed that budget into law?” he asked.
He also criticised the National Assembly, the Central Bank of Nigeria and anti-corruption agencies, saying the scandal required a thorough and independent investigation.
Atiku argued that whether the matter involved an elaborate fraud aided by insiders or a major governance failure, the conclusion was that government institutions failed.
He called for an independent probe with no sacred cows, political protection or selective justice.
The controversy has now widened from an alleged forgery and impersonation case into a broader public accountability issue involving questions about the national budget, official documentation, bank accounts and the integrity of government processes.
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