Self-styled Director-General of the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), Prince Adeniyi Matthew Adeyemi, has claimed that he personally lobbied officials at the Budget Office to include the agency in the 2026 Federal Government budget, insisting that President Bola Tinubu’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, played no role in securing the allocation.
Adeyemi made the claims in a recorded interview with social media personality Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, shortly after his arrest. He said he was surprised to later discover that the proposed agency appeared in the 2026 budget, as his legal troubles had interrupted the process before it was completed.
According to Adeyemi, he first approached the Budget Office in December 2024 seeking the agency’s inclusion in the 2025 Appropriation Bill but was informed that the budget process had already closed. Officials reportedly advised him that the proposal would instead be considered for the 2026 budget.
He further alleged that a female Budget Office official facilitated access to senior officials, where discussions on the proposal continued. However, Adeyemi denied bribing anyone, stating that he only promised to offer employment opportunities to some officials if the agency eventually commenced operations.
“I did not pay anybody. The only promise I made was that if the agency started employing people, I could assist them with jobs,” he said.
Adeyemi maintained that once he was arrested, he abandoned all efforts related to the budget process and was unaware the agency had eventually been included in the appropriation.
He also denied ever meeting Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila in person, despite previous allegations that about 400 million dollars had been delivered through his late associate, Dolapo Tanimola. Adeyemi insisted that Tanimola handled every interaction on his behalf and that he never had direct contact with Gbajabiamila before or after his appointment.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee investigating the PFIPC controversy has commenced hearings into the council’s legal status and its inclusion in the 2026 budget.
During the hearing, the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF) distanced itself from establishing the council, stating that it has no constitutional authority to create government agencies. The office disclosed that PFIPC sought approval for its organisational structure in 2025, but the request was rejected because it lacked the required documentation. It also revealed that later reviews uncovered irregularities in the legal documents submitted by the council.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) also told lawmakers that it only opened two dormant foreign currency accounts for the council after receiving authorisation from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation. The apex bank explained that the accounts were never activated because no authorised signatories were provided and no transactions were ever recorded.
Following the testimonies, the committee directed the CBN to provide complete records of all accounts linked to both the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council and the Presidential Economic Advisory Council as investigations continue. Speaker of the House, Abbas Tajudeen, said the probe is intended to establish the facts surrounding the council’s creation, legal status, funding and inclusion in the federal budget, while ensuring transparency and accountability.
Separately, Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila appeared before the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) in compliance with an invitation over the ongoing investigation into the PFIPC controversy. His lawyer confirmed that he honoured the invitation, answered investigators’ questions and returned to his official duties.
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