The controversy surrounding the ‘Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC)’ has deepened as Adeniyi Adeyemi, who claims to be the Director General of the embattled body, has promised to clear his reputation, claiming he is ready to face the court.
Adeyemi had been making headlines for months boasting about his work with the agency and pictures of him with major figures in Nigeria had been distributed on the internet. Africans & Diaspora
But the presidency disputed the existence of such an entity and charged him in a disagreement about what is really the truth.
As the issue mounted and after a long rebuttal from presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga, Adeyemi stated he was ready to defend himself, saying he had been properly selected to head the agency.
When asked if he was ready to face the police, Adeyemi answered, “Definitely, sir,” during an appearance last night on Channels Television. If I’m wrong, let the court of law do that, and if I’m right, let the court of law do that; do the right thing.”
He refuted charges that he was a con artists, saying “since the matter is in the court, let the court of competent jurisdiction vindicate me because I’m ready to clear my name.”
“Let the court run its course. “Everyone will follow us because my lawyers are involved. “They’ll watch the whole thing.” “Then let the court of competent jurisdiction do what they need to do,” he replied.
When asked as to where the financing for the salaries of staff under the council originated from he vowed “the truth will be unravelled at the court of law.
“I don’t want to say much about it because the matter is in court. Mr Seun [host of the programme], Actually, I’m not allowed to speak because the case is in court. “So let’s just go to the courts ok?”
The debate over the affair took a fresh turn when the presidency dismissed the organisation that Adeyemi claimed to be leading.
He was accused by presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga of impersonation and fabrication of official documents.
“We are aware of the public interest in the issue of a man called Adeyemi Adeniyi Matthew who has been parading himself as the director-general of a fictitious Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council cum Presidential Economic Advisory Council,” Onanuga said in a statement.
This is a classic case of a con artist, Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, who appears to have spun a web of lies to trick unwary government officials and the public into following his book of scams. “He has a history of fraudulent misrepresentation,” he stated.
Adeyemi, however, denied any wrongdoing, saying Femi Gbajabiamila, the Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, and other senior government officials, had tried to obstruct his activities when he refused to follow certain orders.
“The root of the disagreement between the Chief of Staff and I is that he was said to have demanded 48 per cent of the take-off grant (₦27,395,510,136) from the same agency, a claim he denied, which I refused after he collected the sum of ₦400 million by proxy, leaving a balance of ₦200 million to secure the said appointment,” he said.
He urged President Bola Tinubu to set up an impartial investigation commission to investigate the claims.
The “Summary by MDAs” in the Budget Office’s released 2026 Appropriation Bill shows an entity called “Presidential Economic Advisory Council/Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council” with code 0111062001 is allocated a total of ₦1.303 billion.
Of this, ₦802.98 million was for staff, ₦200 million for overhead, and ₦300 million for capital expenditure.
The presidency claimed Adeyemi was managing many bank accounts associated with companies it said were fake and eventually prosecuted him in court.
The Police found that Adeyemi opened a CBN account with phoney documents he produced, by deceiving the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation. The police say no government money has been transferred into the account.
“The suspect’s action is criminal forgery, impersonation and obtaining by false pretence, which has brought the office of the Chief of Staff to the President and the Presidency to disrepute in the eyes of the public and the international community,” the presidency quoted the police as writing in the report of the investigation carried out by assistant commissioner, Kabir Mogaji.
“After the investigation, the police preferred an 8-count charge against Adeyemi and two of his accomplices before the Federal High Court, Abuja on November 27, 2025. “He is to appear in court on the 27th of July,” Onanuga stated.
“Adeyemi was on police bail recently when he said the Chief of Staff appointed him as DG of the fictitious agency. It contradicted what he told police back in November last year. On June 8, the Chief of Staff issued a disclaimer, similar to previous ones, claiming the man, dubbed Adeyemi, is an imposter, after his new claim.
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