Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
Official budget records and correspondence from the National Assembly have directly contradicted the Presidency's claim that the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) is a "non-existent" agency, raising serious questions about the veracity of the government's denial and the integrity of Nigeria's budget process.
Documents obtained by SaharaReporters show that the PFIPC received a specific allocation of N1,302,978,784 in the 2026 Appropriation Act, which was signed into law by President Bola Tinubu himself. The budget line item appears in the official appropriations document, confirming that the council was formally recognised in the nation's financial framework.
Further complicating the Presidency's narrative, both chambers of the National Assembly formally recognised the council through official correspondence. According to documents sighted by SaharaReporters, the council was listed in the 2026 Appropriation records under the Presidency, with the allocation reportedly exceeding ₦1 billion. The Senate Committee on Anti-Corruption and Financial Crimes also issued correspondence on the official letterhead of the National Assembly acknowledging the agency's existence.
The revelation directly undermines the statement issued on Wednesday by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, who insisted that the PFIPC had "no legal existence within the Federal Government" and dismissed the agency as a "phantom council" created solely by the accused.
Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, who has been arrested and charged with an eight-count criminal charge at the Federal High Court in Abuja, maintains that he is the legitimate Director-General of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council and the PFIPC. He has alleged that Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, demanded 48 per cent of the agency's N27.4 billion take-off grant and received N400 million through a proxy to facilitate his appointment, with an outstanding balance of N200 million still unpaid.
Gbajabiamila has denied the allegations and petitioned the DSS and the Nigeria Police Force on October 17, 2025, to investigate what he described as an "elaborate forgery and impersonation scheme." The police arrested Adeyemi on October 27, 2025, at his office inside the Federal Secretariat Complex in Abuja, recovering forged documents, seals, and correspondence used to project legitimacy for the council.
The Presidency's denial has been met with skepticism, as it failed to explain how the name of the "non-existent" agency appeared in official government records, received budgetary allocation approved by the National Assembly, and was eventually assented to by President Tinubu. The Coalition for Truth and Justice has questioned the legal basis for the council's existence, arguing that "an illegal structure does not become legal merely because it appears in some official-looking corner."
The controversy has drawn reactions from across the political spectrum, with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar demanding an independent investigation. Human rights lawyer Femi Falana has also called for an independent probe, stating that only a thorough investigation can answer how the agency allegedly made it into the 2026 budget.
The PFIPC scandal has exposed significant vulnerabilities in Nigeria's budget process and raised serious questions about oversight mechanisms within the Presidency and the National Assembly. The case is scheduled to come up in court on July 27, 2026, where Adeyemi and two other accomplices will face charges of forgery, impersonation, and obtaining by false pretence.
As the legal proceedings unfold, the documents obtained by SaharaReporters have cast doubt on the official narrative and called into question the integrity of the government's response to what appears to be one of the most audacious fraud schemes in Nigeria's recent history.
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