Adeniyi Adeyemi, Director-General of the alleged Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), says the N400 million he allegedly paid to secure his appointment letter was borrowed and that those who gave him the money have reported the matter to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to recover it.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday, weeks after accusing President Bola Tinubu’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, of receiving the money through a middleman, Adeyemi said: “I borrowed this money. In fact, those that I borrowed this money from have reported to the EFCC. I borrowed this money to pay for this appointment. They have written to the EFCC, asking me to refund their money.
“So, I’m not even here to pay the money back. I borrowed this money.”
Adeyemi described the government’s reaction as unfair, saying some people in government had embarrassed him publicly.
“Imagine the government claiming I manoeuvre the whole system. It’s unfortunate,” he said.
Reacting to reports that a United States lobbying firm was helping him seek asylum, he said: “I read it the way you read it. Some people call me that they are looking for me.”
He added: “I just ignore; because they sponsor a lot of people to bring my social media handle down. So, I don’t really know much what is going on again. I just hear from family and friends.”
Dismissing claims that he planned to leave Nigeria, Adeyemi said: “They pulled my social media handle down, and they still reported that I was about to run away out of Nigeria. I’m still in Nigeria. I’m not going anywhere.”
The Presidency declared on June 11 that the PFIPC does not exist and described Adeyemi as an impostor. On July 1, presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga said police found Adeyemi allegedly forged an appointment letter, ran a non-existent agency and maintained 34 bank accounts, including nine allegedly opened in the names of fake government institutions. The Presidency said concerns first came up in October 2025 after the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission reported another group claiming to be a government agency.
Despite the denial, Adeyemi insists his appointment was genuine and says he worked openly for nearly three years. He also accused Gbajabiamila of collecting N400 million through a proxy, later demanding another N200 million and seeking 48 per cent of a supposed N27.4 billion take-off grant. Gbajabiamila’s lawyers denied the claims and threatened a N10 billion defamation suit.
Adeyemi later told Martins Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, that he had never met Gbajabiamila in person and could not confirm the identity of the person he allegedly spoke with by phone.
The issue grew after the council appeared in the 2026 Appropriation Act with over N1.3 billion allocated to it. President Bola Tinubu has directed the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate the matter and submit its report within 30 days.
