The Presidency is facing mounting public scrutiny over what many Nigerians describe as glaring inconsistencies in its explanation of the controversy surrounding the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), following allegations by Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi against the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila.
Although the Presidency has dismissed the PFIPC as a fictitious organisation and described Adeyemi as an impostor facing criminal prosecution, the government's response has instead triggered fresh questions over how the council found its way into the 2026 Appropriation Act with a budgetary allocation of N1.302 billion, maintained an office within the Federal Secretariat in Abuja, allegedly operated Central Bank of Nigeria accounts and conducted meetings with foreign diplomats under the banner of the Federal Government.
The controversy escalated after Adeyemi publicly accused Gbajabiamila of receiving N400 million through a proxy as part of a N600 million deal to facilitate his appointment as Director-General of the PFIPC.
He further alleged that the Chief of Staff later demanded 48 per cent of the council's proposed take-off grant of N27.4 billion, a request he said he refused.
According to Adeyemi, it was his refusal to meet those demands that led to the Presidency's subsequent denial of both his appointment and the agency itself.
"The major rationale behind the disagreement between myself and the Chief of Staff is because he allegedly requested 48 per cent of the take-off grant (N27,395,510,136) from the same agency, which he denies, to which I rejected after he collected a total sum of N400 million by proxy, with a remaining balance of N200 million to secure the said appointment," he alleged.
Adeyemi insisted that the Presidency's position was difficult to reconcile with official government records.
He argued that if the PFIPC truly did not exist, its inclusion in the 2026 national budget would amount to a major institutional failure.
"If the agency does not exist, yet found its way into the Nigerian national budget, what that means is that the entire 2026 appropriation budget is a fraud and should be discarded.
"For President Bola Tinubu to append his signature to a budget that includes a non-existent agency, according to his Chief of Staff, is an embarrassment to this hardworking government," he said.
The PFIPC chief also maintained that the council had operated openly for over one year, occupying office space at the Federal Secretariat, maintaining Treasury Single Account, domiciliary and pounds sterling accounts with the Central Bank of Nigeria and engaging with foreign missions.
He challenged Gbajabiamila to produce documentary evidence supporting his claims and called on President Bola Tinubu to constitute an independent investigative panel to examine the allegations.
Adeyemi also requested investigations into an alleged assassination attempt against him in September 2025 and the death of Babatunde Tanimola, whom he identified as the intermediary between himself and the Chief of Staff.
Presidency dismisses allegations
Responding through a statement signed by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the Presidency maintained that the PFIPC never existed within the Tinubu administration.
According to the statement, the Office of the Chief of Staff first alerted security agencies in October 2025 after discovering what it described as forged appointment letters and fraudulent activities allegedly carried out in the name of the Presidency.
The statement said the Nigeria Police subsequently arrested Adeyemi at the Federal Secretariat office from where he allegedly operated the organisation.
It further stated that investigators recovered forged documents from his office and residence and established that he falsely presented himself as head of a presidential agency.
According to the Presidency, investigations also revealed that Adeyemi fraudulently obtained a Central Bank account by misleading the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, sought diplomatic privileges from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs using forged documents and operated multiple bank accounts linked to fictitious agencies.
The statement added that Adeyemi and two others had since been arraigned before the Federal High Court on charges bordering on forgery, impersonation and obtaining by false pretence.
Onanuga urged politicians and members of the public not to be swayed by Adeyemi's allegations, noting that the matter was already before the courts.
Nigerians shift focus to unanswered questions
Despite the detailed defence by the Presidency, public discourse has increasingly centred on what critics describe as unresolved issues that were either ignored or insufficiently addressed.
Foremost among them is the appearance of the PFIPC in the 2026 Appropriation Act.
Financial analyst and public affairs commentator, Kalu Aja, said the contradiction raised serious governance concerns.
"This situation is quite concerning.
"Femi Gbajabiamila, the Chief of Staff to the President, claims that the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) does not exist within the structure of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's administration.
"However, this very council is listed in the budget of the Presidency, not in some distant ministry or agency; it's allocated within the budget of the Presidency itself.
"This raises two possibilities: either the Presidency is unaware of its own budget, which is meant for its own operations, or the Secretary to the Federal Government is being dishonest.
"What surprises me is that the Secretary is making a definitive statement on an issue that can be easily verified.
"I've attached a screenshot from the Federal Budget Office, which shows what the National Assembly voted on and what the President approved.
"The amount in question is N1.3 billion.
"We will be closely observing how the President responds to this situation."
Atiku's spokesman asks three questions
Paul Ibe, media adviser to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, said the Presidency had failed to answer critical questions.
"Dear Bayo,
"You have said so much, but we want answers to the following:
"Who smuggled N1.3 billion for Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi's Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) in the 2026 Budget?
"Did Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila receive N400 million alleged bribe from Adeyemi?
"Don't you think that your Presidency gives itself away as one big scam if an individual can easily secure office space at the Federal Secretariat for the purposes of the so-called 'scam' PFIPC operations?"
"The story is insane"
Youth activist Serah Ibrahim described the controversy as one of the biggest political stories currently receiving little attention.
"This story is actually insane and nobody is talking about it, and the key witness has apparently died in a hotel fire.
"Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi accused Femi Gbajabiamila of collecting N400 million from him for a N600 million deal for the appointment to become DG of Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC).
"Gbajabiamila claims the company does not exist and that Prince Adeyemi is telling lies, but the 2026 Appropriation Act currently contains a N1.3 billion budget allocation for the PFIPC on page 50 and 51.
"So how did a 'non-existent' agency receive a budget allocation?
"The criminality happening under Tinubu is abysmal."
'Audacity almost unbelievable'
Journalist and publisher of Daily Nigerian, Jaafar Jaafar, said the official explanation raised more questions than answers.
"This man created a fake government agency called Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, appointed himself as DG, secured office space at the Federal Secretariat, opened a CBN account in its name, got N1,302,978,784 allocation in the 2026 budget, summoned ambassadors to meetings, held strategic sessions with ministers, and even represented Nigeria at international conferences.
"The audacity is almost unbelievable."
'Damage control'
Social media commentator Malam Imran U argued that the Presidency's response had failed to convince the public.
"The Senate and House Reps wrote letters to a non-existing agency.
"Even got an office in the Federal Secretariat all without knowledge of the Government.
"Please who told Bayo, Tinubu, and Femi Gbaja that we are this stupid?
"Because what is this damage control?
"The longer Gbaja keeps his job, the more complicit he is making the President look."
'A superhero. A genius'
Author Elnathan John employed sarcasm to criticise the government's narrative.
"Behold, Nigeria's smartest con artist, who was somehow able to get an appointment letter from the Presidency, smuggle the name of his agency into the budget, find the high-level documents necessary to open an official CBN account, employed staff, got an office in the Federal Secretariat, got a budget for his office, was able to summon and have meetings with ambassadors and international business people.
"A superhero. A genius. Houdini would be proud."
'Institutional failure'
Lawyer Malachy Odo II also questioned the official version of events.
"You must think we are all APC supporters with mosquito coil for brains.
"He opened a CBN account and used it to mislead the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.
"I guess he also misled the Budget Office and the National Assembly."
Former Minister of Youth and Sports, Solomon Dalong, said the Presidency's statement had only deepened public concern.
"I think the Presidency's statement was clearly intended to shut down public scrutiny. Ironically, it has achieved the exact opposite.
"Let us assume, for a moment, that every allegation against Prince Adeyemi is true.
"Even then, the statement leaves glaring gaps that no amount of rhetoric can paper over."
According to Dalong, even if Adeyemi were eventually convicted, government institutions would still have questions to answer.
"You are asking Nigerians to believe that one private citizen woke up one morning, invented a presidential agency, forged his own appointment, secured office space inside the Federal Secretariat, recruited staff, held meetings with diplomats, corresponded with government institutions, allegedly opened a CBN account through official channels and, if the official budget documents are anything to go by, the same 'non-existent' agency found its way into the Appropriation Act with an allocation running into billions.
"If that is truly what happened, then this is no longer just the story of an alleged fraudster. It is also the story of spectacular institutional failure."
He said the Presidency's silence over the budget allocation remained "deafening."
"Budget allocations do not descend from heaven.
"They pass through ministries, the Budget Office, executive review and legislative approval.
"Who introduced the line item?
"Who processed it?
"Who signed off on it?
"Who failed to ask whether the agency even existed?
"Those are not political questions.
"They are governance questions."
Calls for documentary evidence
Public affairs commentator Tunde Akogun also argued that the official response had failed to address the central issue.
"If the Chief of Staff says PFIPC 'does not exist' in Tinubu's Presidency, but PFIPC is line-itemed in the Presidency's own budget passed by the National Assembly, signed by the President, with N1.3 billion attached then someone is lying.
"That is not just an anomaly; it is gross sloppiness.
"How did you appropriate N1.3 billion for a fictitious agency?
"How did Adeyemi allegedly secure CBN account access, a Federal Secretariat office, and meetings with diplomats?
"Until these questions are answered, your press statement is preposterous and does not close the matter. Rather, it deepens it."
Similar sentiments dominated reactions on Facebook.
Chris Jesuitism Chris wrote, "I managed to read to the end but unfortunately I didn't understand anything Uncle Bayo was trying to tell us."
Akin Malaolu said, "The hunter has finally become the hunted. Adeyemi revealed what we have always been hearing behind the walls."
Enobong Oton argued that the official denial was difficult to accept.
"The ease in which a private individual supposedly started a fake agency, secured for himself a fake appointment, secured offices in the Federal Secretariat, opened an account for the fake agencies in the Central Bank of Nigeria and secured budgetary allocation in this financial year makes government denial of complicity difficult to believe."
Emma Emeka Anyagwa added, "You didn't talk about the man's use of the Federal Secretariat and its facilities as well as how his budget became gazetted."
As the controversy continues to dominate public discourse, many Nigerians say the issue has moved beyond the allegations exchanged between Adeyemi and the Presidency.
For many observers, the fundamental questions now concern the integrity of government institutions and the apparent contradictions between official records and the Presidency's position.
Whether through the courts or an independent investigation, critics insist that Nigerians deserve clear explanations on how an agency officially described as non-existent came to appear in the Presidency's own budget, allegedly operate from the Federal Secretariat, interact with government institutions and receive recognition in official circles.
Until those questions are answered with documentary evidence, they argue, the PFIPC controversy will remain one of the most contentious governance issues confronting the Tinubu administration.
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