The Presidency has accused Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, who allegedly paraded himself as the Director-General of a non-existent Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council cum Presidential Economic Advisory Council, of fraudulently opening a Central Bank of Nigeria account with forged government documents.
In a statement issued on Wednesday by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the Presidency said police investigations allegedly revealed that Adeyemi used fake documents to mislead the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation into facilitating the opening of the CBN account.
The Presidency, however, said investigators established that no government funds were transferred into the account.
According to the statement, police investigations also allegedly showed that Adeyemi operated 34 bank accounts, including nine opened in the names of fictitious agencies such as the FCT Investment Promotion Agency and Public Private Partnership.
The Presidency alleged that Adeyemi forged his appointment letter, falsely presented himself as a government appointee and sought a note verbale from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to enable him and members of his team obtain United States visas.
The statement said concerns over the alleged fake agency first came to light after the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, received complaints from officials of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Council that another body appeared to be operating at cross-purposes with it.
According to the Presidency, Gbajabiamila subsequently petitioned the Department of State Services and the Nigeria Police Force on October 17, 2025, requesting an investigation into individuals allegedly forging appointment letters purportedly issued from his office.
“The attention of this office has been drawn to the activities of certain individuals and groups engaged in the forgery of official appointment letters purportedly issued from my office,” the Chief of Staff was quoted as saying in the petition.
“The above development not only constitutes a serious criminal act but also undermines the integrity of the Presidency and the credibility of official government communication.
“I therefore urge you to initiate a thorough investigation to identify and apprehend those involved and also to uncover the network facilitating the forgery.”
The Presidency said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had also raised concern after Adeyemi allegedly convened a meeting with ambassadors in Abuja without official clearance or recourse to the ministry.
It said the development prompted further security enquiries into the status of the purported council and the persons behind it.
According to the Presidency, police arrested Adeyemi on October 27, 2025, at his office in Abuja.
It added that searches were carried out at the office and at his residence in Suleja, where several documents and other exhibits were allegedly recovered.
The statement said that during interrogation, Adeyemi allegedly claimed that one Dolapo Babatunde Tanimola helped him obtain the alleged fake appointment letter.
However, investigators were said to have later established that Tanimola had died in a fire incident at Kachi Hotel in Abuja five days before Adeyemi’s arrest.
The Presidency said police investigators concluded that the agency Adeyemi claimed to head did not exist and that documents recovered from him were allegedly forged.
It added that Adeyemi and two other persons had since been arraigned before the Federal High Court, Abuja, on an eight-count charge.
According to the statement, the matter is scheduled to come up in court on July 27, 2026.
The Presidency said Adeyemi’s recent public allegations against Gbajabiamila were made while he was on police bail and were inconsistent with the statement he allegedly made to investigators.
Adeyemi had earlier accused Gbajabiamila of allegedly demanding 48 per cent of a purported ₦27.4 billion take-off grant and collecting ₦400 million through proxies to secure his appointment, with an alleged outstanding balance of ₦200 million.
The Presidency denied the allegations, insisting that the purported agency was fictitious and that neither Gbajabiamila nor the Office of the Chief of Staff had any dealings with Adeyemi or the alleged council.
It also said the Office of the Chief of Staff does not make appointments into federal offices, noting that such matters are handled through the appropriate government channels, including the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
The Presidency urged politicians, media organisations and members of the public not to rely on Adeyemi’s allegations or weaponise them against the Chief of Staff while the criminal case remains before the court.
It said the public should await the outcome of the trial and the judgment of the court.
For now, the bribery allegations against the Chief of Staff remain unproven, while the Presidency maintains that Adeyemi is facing trial over alleged forgery, impersonation and false representation.
