…Says He Borrowed N400m To Secure His Appointment
…Urges Tinubu To Set Up Independent Panel On ‘Presidential Council’ Scandal
Adeniyi Adeyemi says his withdrawal from the public is due to threats to his life rather than an attempt to evade law enforcement agencies.
Adeyemi, who claims to be the ‘director-general’ of the disputed ‘Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC),’ said this on Monday during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today.
“I’m ready to show my face. I’m not hiding. I’m only fearing for my life because I have it on good authority that my life is in danger,” he said on the current affairs programme, alleging threats to his life.
“There have been several attempts on my life,” Adeyemi said.
During the interview, he maintained his claim that he gave money to Femi Gbajabiamila, the Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, to secure his appointment as the director-general of the council.
When asked how he raised the ₦400 million he claimed was paid through a proxy, Adeyemi said he borrowed it.
“I borrowed the money [₦400 million] for this appointment. In fact, those that I borrowed from have reported to the EFCC,” he said.
He spoke hours after asking President Tinubu to set up an independent panel to probe the matter and said he was “ready” to defend himself.
His remarks came amid the controversy surrounding his allegations that the Chief of Staff received ₦400 million through a proxy and demanded an additional ₦200 million to facilitate his appointment.
A search of the Budget Office’s published 2026 Appropriation Bill under the “Summary by MDAs” lists an entity described as “Presidential Economic Advisory Council/Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council” with code 0111062001 and a total allocation of ₦1.303 billion: ₦802.98 million for personnel, ₦200 million for overhead, and ₦300 million for capital expenditure.
In a strongly worded rebuttal, however, the presidency denied the existence of such a “council”, describing the PFIPC as fictitious.
“We are aware of the public interest in the matter of a man called Adeyemi Adeniyi Matthew, who has been parading himself as the director-general of a fictitious Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council cum Presidential Economic Advisory Council,” presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga said.
He said concerns about the alleged council first emerged in October 2025 after the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission complained that another body appeared to be operating at cross-purposes with it.
Onanuga said the Chief of Staff subsequently petitioned the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigeria Police Force over what he described as forged appointment letters and the activities of individuals allegedly impersonating government officials.
Following the controversy, Gbajabiamila threatened legal action against Adeyemi, while President Tinubu ordered an investigation into the matter.
Adeyemi, however, said he was prepared to defend himself in court.
“If I’m wrong, let the court of law do that, and if I’m right, let the court of law do that; do the right thing,” he said during another edition of Politics Today.
In the same vein, Adeyemi, who claims to be the director-general of the disputed ‘Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council’ (PFIPC), has urged President Bola Tinubu to set up an independent panel to investigate the PFIPC controversy.
In an open letter to Tinubu, Adeyemi said the panel must be “independent” and “multi-stakeholder” to “guarantee complete neutrality”.
According to him, the panel’s membership should be drawn from civil society organisations and independent media representatives, international financial observers, and human rights observers, such as Amnesty International, to monitor compliance with international safety and legal standards.
He listed others as: “Diplomatic Observers: Representatives from the United Nations, the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, ECOWAS and the African Union” and “Statutory Enforcement: The ICPC and EFCC, serving as technical partners within this broader, independent coalition.”
Tinubu had asked the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate the matter, but Adeyemi said since the agency is part of the government, it would be unfair to have it probe the matter.
“If this investigation is to command the absolute trust of the Nigerian public and the international community, it must transcend standard bureaucratic boundaries,” he said.
“The moment this independent, multi-stakeholder panel is constituted, I will immediately step forward to present comprehensive documentation and verifiable evidence,” Adeyemi said. “A system cannot credibly investigate itself when its own key actors are central to the discourse.”
He commended President Tinubu for directing the ICPC to investigate the circumstances “surrounding the PFIPC Scandal and ₦1.3 billion allocation inserted into the 2026 Appropriation Bill.”
“This directive is a vital first step, but the structural realities of this investigation compel me to speak out of a profound desire for absolute transparency,” he said.
But Adeyemi alleged that “True accountability cannot be achieved when the agency conducting the investigation answers directly to the branch of government within which the core allegations lie”.
“Furthermore, I must state clearly that walking freely into custody under the current arrangement poses an immediate, existential threat to my life. I have received verified, highly reliable intelligence indicating that I am targeted for elimination the moment I surface in an unmonitored environment.
“This is not an unfounded fear. My concerns are deeply validated by the highly alarming events surrounding Mr. Dolapo Babatunde Tanimola, a central intermediary in this matter.
“Official reports claim Mr. Tanimola tragically died in a sudden fire incident at Kachi Hotel in Utako, Abuja. Yet, there remains a total absence of independent eyewitness or media verification of any such inferno.
“More disturbingly, under highly unclear circumstances and without the official involvement of any federal capital regulatory agency, the entire Kachi Hotel structure was swiftly invaded by unidentified armed actors and manually demolished down to the rubble days later—effectively erasing a vital physical crime scene and erasing material evidence.”