The controversy surrounding the alleged Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) took a fresh twist on Wednesday as the self-acclaimed Director-General of the council, Adeniyi Adeyemi, said he is ready to submit documents in his possession to the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigeria Police to aid investigations into the agency’s controversial existence and its N1.3 billion allocation in the 2026 budget.
Adeyemi’s latest move comes amid mounting scrutiny over the council, which the Presidency has described as a non-existent agency, prompting President Bola Tinubu to direct the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate the matter within 30 days.
Speaking during an interview with social media personality Martins Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, Adeyemi insisted he was prepared to cooperate fully with security agencies to uncover how the council found its way into the national budget despite being disowned by the Presidency.
“I am willing and ready to help security agencies or any panel set up by Mr. President to unravel the truth. Any moment from now, I will go to the DSS or the police to submit all the documents I have. They should authenticate them, verify them and uncover the truth,” he said.
Adeyemi denied allegations that he orchestrated the insertion of the agency into the 2026 Appropriation Act, claiming he was in detention for 23 days while the budget was being prepared.
“I was in detention throughout the period the budget was being prepared. I neither prepared nor defended any budget, and nobody represented me. That is why I am confused about how the agency found its way into the national budget,” he stated.
The embattled official also declined to directly accuse or exonerate the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, over previous claims linking him to the council, saying only an independent investigation could establish the facts.
“I wouldn’t say he is lying, and I wouldn’t say he is telling the truth. That is why I requested that Mr. President should set up an investigative panel so Nigerians will know exactly what happened,” he added.
Adeyemi further claimed he survived an attack by gunmen near Zuma Rock in September 2025 and maintained that the PFIPC was conceived to attract foreign investment into Nigeria rather than for fraudulent purposes.
The controversy has also exposed divisions within the National Assembly.
While the House of Representatives resolved to investigate how the allegedly fictitious agency secured a budgetary allocation of over N1.3 billion, the Senate declined to launch a separate probe, opting instead to await the outcome of the ICPC investigation ordered by the Presidency.
The House has constituted an ad hoc committee to examine how the agency allegedly bypassed established verification processes and directed relevant government officials, including the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning and the Director-General of the Budget Office, to explain how the allocation was approved.
Lawmakers also directed the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation not to release any funds to the council pending the outcome of the investigation.
The scandal has continued to attract strong political reactions, with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and the African Democratic Congress (ADC) rejecting the Presidency’s reliance on the ICPC probe.
Atiku argued that the Federal Government could not investigate a matter in which it was allegedly implicated, calling instead for an independent commission of inquiry comprising representatives of the Nigerian Bar Association, civil society groups, opposition parties and retired judicial officers.
Similarly, the ADC questioned the credibility of the government-led investigation, alleging that the Presidency had already prejudged the matter by branding Adeyemi’s documents as forged before any forensic examination.
The opposition party also condemned the reported arrest of Adeyemi’s father by security operatives, describing it as an attempt to intimidate the embattled official and influence the ongoing investigation.
The PFIPC controversy has sparked widespread debate over the integrity of Nigeria’s budget process, with growing calls for greater scrutiny of government agencies and stronger safeguards against the inclusion of unauthorised institutions in future appropriation bills.
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