(Adeniyi Adeyemi. Photo by TheCable)
Adeniyi Adeyemi, Director-General of the purported Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, has claimed that the ₦400 million he allegedly paid to secure his appointment letter was borrowed money, adding that those who lent him the funds have since petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to help recover it.
Adeyemi made the disclosure while appearing on a television programme on Monday, weeks after he accused the Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila, of receiving the money through an intermediary to facilitate his appointment.
He said he had borrowed the money to pay for the appointment and that those who lent it to him had written to the EFCC demanding a refund, stressing that he was not the one seeking to reclaim the funds since it was borrowed money in the first place.
Describing the government’s handling of the controversy as unfair, Adeyemi alleged that certain individuals within government had subjected him to public embarrassment, saying it was unfortunate that the government would claim he had manoeuvred the entire system.
Responding to reports that a United States lobbying firm was assisting him in pursuing asylum, Adeyemi said he had no direct knowledge of such efforts and only learned of them through media reports, adding that some people had reached out saying they were looking for him.
He said he had limited access to information about the matter because his social media presence had been disrupted, claiming that unnamed sponsors were working to bring his accounts down, leaving him reliant on family and friends for updates.
He also dismissed suggestions that he intended to flee the country, insisting he remained in Nigeria despite reports to the contrary. He noted that even after his social media accounts were taken down, reports still circulated claiming he was about to abscond, which he denied.
The controversy surrounding the council became public after the Presidency issued a disclaimer on June 11, signed by Gbajabiamila, stating that no such agency existed under the Tinubu administration and describing Adeyemi as an impostor.
In a more detailed statement issued on July 1, the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said police investigations found that Adeyemi allegedly forged a presidential appointment letter purportedly signed by Gbajabiamila, ran a non-existent government agency, and maintained 34 bank accounts, nine of which were reportedly opened in the names of fictitious government institutions.
The Presidency said suspicions first emerged in October 2025 after the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission flagged another organisation presenting itself as a government agency and carrying out overlapping functions.
Despite the official denial, Adeyemi has continued to insist that his appointment was legitimate, maintaining that he operated openly for nearly three years, engaged with heads of ministries, departments and agencies, and hosted delegations from institutions including the EFCC and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
He has further alleged that Gbajabiamila collected ₦400 million through a proxy to facilitate his appointment, later demanded an additional ₦200 million, and sought 48 per cent of a purported ₦27.4 billion take-off grant for the council.
Gbajabiamila’s legal team has denied the allegations, calling them false and threatening a ₦10 billion defamation lawsuit.
However, Adeyemi later told activist Martins Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, that he had never physically met Gbajabiamila and could not confirm the identity of the person he claimed to have communicated with by phone.
The controversy deepened after the council appeared in the 2026 Appropriation Act with an allocation exceeding ₦1.3 billion, raising fresh questions over how an agency described as fictitious ended up in the national budget.
President Bola Tinubu has since directed the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission to investigate the matter and submit its findings within 30 days.
