How PFIPC got into  2026 Budget — Adeyemi

***Fingers Budget top officials

***Insists ‘I never met Gbajabiamila physically

***Reps begin investigative hearing into legal status, budget inclusion of PFIPC; summon OHCSF, CBN

***lGbajabiamila appears before ICPC

By Dapo Akinrefon, Johnbosco Agbakwuru & Gift Odekina

LAGOS —Self-styled Director-General of alleged Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, PFIPC, Prince Adeniyi Matthew Adeyemi, has explained how the agency was captured in the Federal Government’s 2026 budget despite his arrest before the appropriation process was concluded.

This came as the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee investigating the PFIPC saga yesterday began a probe into the establishment, with Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, OHCSF, and the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, testifying and distancing themselves from its creation and operation.

Adeyemi made the claims in an interview with social media influencer, Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, in a recording released shortly after his arrest.

He said the Chief of Staff to the President, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila, had no hand in the N1.3 billion budgetary allocation, adding that he personally approached top Budget Office officials for the agency ‘s inclusion.

He noted that the process was not completed before his arrest, saying he was surprised to later discover that the proposed agency had appeared in the budget.

‘I went to Budget Office in Dec 2024’

According to him, he visited the Budget Office in December 2024 to seek inclusion of the agency in the 2025 Appropriation Bill but was informed that the budget process had already closed.

Adeyemi said: “I went to that Budget Office for the 2025 budget. I submitted the letter and everything that I wanted, but I was told it was already late.

“When the 2025 budget came out and I didn’t see it, they told me it would now be for the 2026 budget. We kept in touch because they said it would be considered later.”

He alleged that a female official helped him gain access to the office of the Director-General of Budget Office before he was referred to another director.

“She helped me to see the oga. Oga now said, ‘Where is my shini?’ I said I don’t have any shini. He later asked me to meet one director,” he said.

Adeyemi said the director informed him that the proposal could no longer be accommodated in the 2025 budget but assured him that efforts would continue towards the 2026 appropriation.

“They were trying for me that maybe they would include it, but unfortunately they said it could not be included in the 2025 budget. They said it would be for 2026,” he stated.

Asked whether he paid any Budget Office official, Adeyemi said he only promised officials some favours on execution of the deal.

“Honestly, I did not pay any money. I didn’t pay anybody. The only thing I promised was that if I started employing people, I could help them with employment opportunities,” he said.

He admitted promising future favours to some officials but insisted no cash exchanged hands during his interactions at the Budget Office.

“That was the favour I promised them. I did not give anybody money. It was just a promise that if they had people, I could employ them later,” he said.

According to Adeyemi, the process ended immediately after his arrest because his legal troubles overtook every other plan.

He said: “Immediately there was a problem, everything stopped. Even the woman that wanted to help was calling but she couldn’t reach me. I told her to let everything stop.

“I didn’t even know until they said it was inside the budget. I had already left the office. Where would I still pursue the budget when I was already facing the court?”

When the interviewer suggested officials might have inserted the agency into the budget after his arrest, Adeniyi said he could not explain how it happened.

“I don’t know because once that problem started, everything stopped. Why would I still pursue the budget when I was already in trouble?” he said.

On allegations that he paid N400 million to facilitate his appointment, Adeniyi claimed the money was delivered in United States dollars through his late associate, Dolapo Tanimola, and that he was not sure if it was delivered to Gbajabiamila.

Asked the denomination of the money, he replied, “Dollars.” Asked who received it, he answered, “Dolapo..’’

Adeyemi also denied ever meeting the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, despite alleging that money was sent through Tanimola.

Speaking further during the interview released on Tuesday, Adeyemi declared that he never met Gbajabiamila physically before or after his appointment.

He said Tanimola acted as the intermediary throughout the process and facilitated the alleged N400 million payment made in dollars.

“I never met Gbajabiamila physically before and after he was appointed. Dolapo Tanimola handled everything for me,” Adeniyi said.

Reps begin investigative hearing over legal status, budget inclusion of PFIPC

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee investigating the PFIPC, yesterday heard testimonies from the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, OHCSF, and the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, with both institutions distancing themselves from creation and operation of the council.

The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Didi Esther Walson-Jack, told the committee that her office had no constitutional responsibility to establish government agencies.

“The approval and establishment of agencies is not within the purview of the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation. However, the OHCSF is responsible for approving the administrative structure of federal government agencies,” she said.

PFIPC requested approval in 2025 — HCSF

According to her, the council requested approval of its organisational structure on August 6, 2025, but the request was rejected because it failed to provide the necessary documentation.

“From our records, the council submitted a request to the OHCSF for approval of its organisational structure on  August 6, 2025, without providing the requisite documents. Consequently, the request was not granted,” she stated.

The OHCSF, however, confirmed that during the 2025 annual manpower budget defence exercise, officials of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council, PEAC/Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council, requested an authorised establishment and recruitment waiver.

According to her, the council informed officials that it had been operating mainly with officers deployed or seconded from other government institutions.

“The officials informed the department that 14 officers, including the Director-General/Chief Executive Officer, were already on ground and requested the issuance of an authorised establishment, together with a recruitment waiver, to enable the organisation commence full operations,” Wilson-jack said.

She explained that the request was processed alongside those of 87 other ministries, departments and agencies, MDAs, and approved as part of the fourth batch of manpower approvals.

She further disclosed that an authorised establishment providing for 314 positions, comprising 14 existing officers and 300 additional positions, was subsequently issued to the council.

The OHCSF also revealed that it later discovered irregularities in the legal documents submitted by the council.

“It was observed that the document presented by the council as its enabling law or legal instrument did not really carry the requisite features,” Wilson-jack told lawmakers, while further denying deploying civil servants to the council.

“We wish to state that there was no deployment of staff by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation to the council,” she added.

The Head of Service also dismissed reports that her office allocated office accommodation to the council.

“While there is speculation that the council occupied office space in the Federal Secretariat Phase III, we can state categorically that the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation did not allocate any office space to the PEAC/PFIPC,” she said.

She maintained that issues relating to the establishment and supervision of the council fell under the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, OSGF, and other relevant institutions.

OAGF wrote us to open account for PFIPC/PEAC in 2025 — CBN

Also testifying before the committee, a Director at the Central Bank of Nigeria, Hamisu Abdullahi, who represented the CBN governor, explained that the apex bank only opened accounts for government agencies upon receiving formal authorisation from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, OAGF.

“As a banker to the Federal Government, the Central Bank has responsibility for opening all accounts for ministries, departments and agencies, MDAs, with the exception of those exempted from the Treasury Single Account, TSA,” Abdullahi said.

He explained that the bank had no direct dealings with government agencies on account opening.

“We do not have any direct engagement with any ministry, department or agency for account opening; account closure or change of account nomenclature, except through the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation,” he said.

Abdullahi disclosed that the CBN received a mandate dated July 29, 2025, from the OAGF and opened two domiciliary accounts for the Presidential Economic Advisory Council/Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council.

“On July 30, 2025, we received a mandate dated July 29, 2025, from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation to open one United States dollar domiciliary account and one Pound Sterling domiciliary account,” he said.

He, however, informed lawmakers that the accounts were never activated because the council failed to submit authorised signatories.

“Those two accounts remain inactive with zero balance and have never been operated,” Abdullahi stated.

While noting that there had been no financial activity on the accounts, he said: “There have been no foreign exchange allocations, no remittances, no inflows and no outflows. The accounts have maintained zero balance from inception to date.’’

Abdullahi further said the CBN never had any direct correspondence with the council concerning the operation of the accounts.

“The council had no direct correspondence with the Central Bank of Nigeria regarding the operation of the accounts,” he added.

Following the testimony, Chairman of the Ad-hoc Committee, Abdulmalik Danga, directed the CBN to provide a comprehensive record of all financial transactions linked to both the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council and the Presidential Economic Advisory Council.

“We want details of account activities relating to the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council as well as the Presidential Economic Advisory Council. From the opening of the accounts to their last status, this committee wants the complete records,” Danga directed.

The committee also ordered the apex bank to obtain details of any related accounts operated in commercial banks and submit the records to assist lawmakers in concluding the investigation into the alleged establishment and operations of the council without a valid legal framework.

Speaking while inaugurating the committee, speaker of the House, Abbas Tajudeen, said the investigation is aimed at establishing the facts surrounding the council’s existence and not to fuel public controversy or pursue political interests.

According to him, the committee’s assignment follows growing public interest and widespread debates over the council’s legal status, institutional mandate, operational framework and relationship with existing government agencies responsible for investment promotion.

“The House of Representatives has, therefore, not constituted this committee to validate speculation or amplify controversy. Neither is this a political exercise. Our objective is simply to establish the facts,” the speaker said.

He stressed that parliamentary oversight remains a constitutional obligation and a key mechanism for ensuring transparency, accountability and citizen participation in governance.

Abbas directed the committee to determine whether there was any legal basis for the establishment and operation of the PFIPC; investigate the processes that led to its creation, and ascertain whether constitutional and statutory procedures were followed.

The committee is also expected to examine the council’s mandate, governance structure, funding sources, operational activities and relationship with existing statutory agencies, while investigating how it was incorporated into the federal budget framework and whether due budgetary processes were observed.

In addition, the panel will assess possible duplication of statutory responsibilities with existing government institutions and recommend legislative, administrative or institutional reforms to strengthen transparency, accountability and fiscal responsibility.

Gbajabiamila appears before ICPC

Meanwhile, Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila, yesterday appeared before the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, to answer questions about the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, PFIPC.

His appearance at the commission followed its invitation after President Tinubu directed the ICPC to carry out a comprehensive investigation into the scandal surrounding the alleged commission.

Jiti Ogunye, Principal Counsel of Jiti Ogunye Chambers and lawyer to the Chief of Staff, said in a two-paragraph statement that Gbajabiamila complied with the commission’s invitation.

The statement, titled “Gbajabiamila responds to ICPC invitation over ongoing investigation into ‘PFIPC’ fake agency,” said:  “In full cooperation with the ICPC and acting as directed by the President of Nigeria, I hereby confirm that my client, Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff to the President of Nigeria, responded to the invitation of the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, ICPC, and appeared at about 15:00 hrs on Monday, July 20, 2026, as part of the ongoing investigation into the activities of the ‘PFIPC’ fake agency, among others.

“My client gave his testimony, responded to questions accordingly, and has returned to his duty post.”

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