•Tinubu, Gbajabiamila and Adeyemi
President Bola Tinubu has directed the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the activities of the “Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council” (PFIPC) and all related matters.
The president ordered that the investigation be concluded and a detailed report submitted to him within 30 days, reports Channels TV.
The directive was disclosed in a statement issued yesterday by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
According to Onanuga, the order followed the discovery of the “fictitious” PFIPC, which he said was never established by the Federal Government and has no basis in any law, presidential instrument, executive approval, or any other lawful act of government.
“One Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew presented himself as the Director-General of the so-called PFIPC and falsely claimed to be a presidential appointee.
“Among the issues to be investigated by the ICPC are the forged appointment letters and other official government documents; the use of a false claim of presidential appointment to seek or obtain official recognition and diplomatic support, including visa facilitation; and the opening of multiple bank accounts in the names of purported government agencies using allegedly forged documents,” the statement said.
It added that President Tinubu directed the ICPC to investigate not only the activities of the principal suspect and other collaborators but also the broader circumstances that may have enabled a fictitious body and a false claim of presidential appointment to gain an appearance of official legitimacy.
According to Onanuga, the investigation will examine the origin and use of forged official documents; the processes through which official recognition or diplomatic support may have been sought or obtained; the opening and operation of any related bank accounts; the source and movement of any funds involved; and the role of any public officer, private individual, financial institution, intermediary, or other person or entity that may have facilitated, enabled, or participated in the alleged scheme.
The president also directed the commission to identify weaknesses in government and institutional procedures that may have been exploited and to recommend immediate measures to prevent a recurrence.
All ministries, departments, and agencies of the federal government have been instructed to provide the ICPC, upon lawful request, with all relevant information, records, and assistance required for the timely completion of the investigation.
President Tinubu, according to the statement, stressed that the integrity of the presidency and federal institutions must be protected against impersonation, forgery, abuse of official identity, and the exploitation of weaknesses within the public service.
He further directed that all persons found culpable be dealt with strictly in accordance with the law.
The controversy revolves around Adeniyi Adeyemi, who maintains that he was lawfully appointed Director-General of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), despite the Presidency’s insistence that the council does not exist.
Adeyemi had accused the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, of receiving ₦400 million through a proxy and subsequently demanding an additional ₦200 million to facilitate his appointment. He also challenged the Presidency’s denial of the PFIPC’s existence, arguing that the council was referenced in the 2026 Appropriation Act.
The embattled claimant has called on President Bola Tinubu to constitute an independent investigative panel, stating that he is ready to defend his allegations in court.
However, the presidency, through the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, dismissed the claims and described Adeyemi as an impostor.
According to the presidency, Adeyemi allegedly forged appointment documents, impersonated a government official, fraudulently opened a Central Bank of Nigeria account, and operated under a non-existent government agency.
The presidency further stated that police investigations resulted in an eight-count criminal charge being filed against Adeyemi and two others, with the case scheduled for hearing on July 27.
Meanwhile, Gbajabiamila has threatened a ₦10 billion defamation suit against Adeyemi, the disputed over allegations of murder and bribery.
In a letter signed by Kemi Pinheiro, Gbajabiamila’s counsel, the chief of staff gave Adeyemi 72 hours to take down all videos and comments in which he made several allegations against the president’s chief of staff.
He asked Adeyemi to publish an apology and a full retraction in at least five national newspapers and on social media, where his press conference of June 26 was circulated.
Pinheiro labelled the allegations from Adeyemi as “malicious, reckless and entirely without factual foundation” and targeted at showing Gbajabiamila as “corrupt, morally bankrupt, and a murderer”.
He was therefore asked to “cease and desist from making, repeating, publishing or causing to be published any further defamatory statements concerning our client” and also “provide our law firm with a written undertaking that you shall refrain from making any further defamatory statements concerning our client”.
The law firm said that “unless the foregoing demands are fully complied with within 72 hours of your receipt of this letter, our Client shall, without further reference to you, commence appropriate legal proceedings against you”, including lodging a criminal petition/complaint against “you for criminal defamation of our client in line with extant laws of the F.C.T.”
