President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has ordered an immediate, sweeping investigation into a fictitious government entity known as the "Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council" (PFIPC). The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has been given a strict 30-day mandate to unravel the scheme and submit a comprehensive report.
The presidential directive follows a deepening multi-billion naira scandal involving the fake agency, which has somehow been linked to a 1.3 billion naira allocation in the 2026 Appropriation Act. The Presidency firmly asserts that the PFIPC has no basis in law, executive approval, or any presidential instrument.
At the centre of the probe is Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, who allegedly posed as the council's Director-General using forged appointment letters and falsified government stamps. Investigators are tracking how the phantom body managed to operate from the Federal Secretariat Complex in Abuja and open multiple bank accounts.
According to an official statement by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, the ICPC will look beyond individual culprits. The anti-graft agency is tasked with auditing internal system failures that allowed a fraudulent establishment to gain an appearance of state authority.
"The integrity of the Presidency and the institutions of the Federal Government must be protected against impersonation, forgery, abuse of official identity and the exploitation of weaknesses in the public service," President Tinubu stated in the directive. The President further ordered that all complicit public officials, financial intermediaries, and private collaborators face the full weight of the law.
The scandal escalated after Adeyemi publicly accused the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, of trying to sabotage the agency. Adeyemi alleged that a rift occurred because he refused Gbajabiamila's proxy request for a 48 percent cut of a 27.3 billion naira takeoff grant.
The Presidency vigorously denied these claims, branding Adeyemi a career con artist. Government reports revealed that the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission first blew the whistle in October 2025 after discovering a parallel organisation was counteracting its functions.
Police operations subsequently led to Adeyemi's arrest on October 27, 2025. Investigators discovered that he operated 34 distinct bank accounts, nine of which were opened using the names of fictitious agencies. The police subsequently filed an eight-count charge of forgery and impersonation at the Federal High Court in Abuja, with the trial scheduled to resume on July 27, 2026.
Defending his stance, Adeyemi maintained his innocence during a recent press briefing, challenging the state to let the judicial process unfold.
"Since the matter is in the court, let the court of competent jurisdiction vindicate me because I'm ready to clear my name," Adeyemi said. He pointed to the 2026 national budget line items and his recorded meetings with foreign diplomats as proof of the council's physical existence.
The ICPC's upcoming findings are expected to reveal how deeply the deception penetrated Nigeria's financial and bureaucratic systems. All federal ministries, departments, and agencies have been explicitly ordered to give the anti-corruption commission unrestricted access to records to fast-track the inquiry.