Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, has broken his silence on the controversy surrounding his now-viral photograph with Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, the self-acclaimed Director-General of the disowned Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), insisting that he was a victim of a sophisticated deception that exploited the official apparatus of government. Kalu made the disclosure on the floor of the Green Chamber during plenary on Wednesday, 8 July 2026, as the House commenced deliberations on the scandal that has gripped the National Assembly.
Addressing his colleagues, the Deputy Speaker explained that his photographs have been circulating widely across various media networks, showing him standing alongside the self-acclaimed Director-General of the fictitious council, Adeniyi Adeyemi. "I was a victim, and I'm sure if you watch the news, you would see my picture all over the screen side by side with the purported DG of this organization," Kalu told the House.
Recounting the sequence of events that led to the meeting, Kalu disclosed that his office received an official correspondence in May 2025. The letter carried a presidency letterhead and was explicitly signed from the Office of the Director-General of the PFIPC. "In May 2025, my office got a letter, and that letter had the Presidency as letterhead, also bearing Office of the Director General, PFIPC," Kalu said.
The letter appeared credible, listing a physical address at the Federal Secretariat Complex, Phase Three, Second Floor, Central Business District, Abuja. However, Kalu admitted that some details in the letter raised concerns, making the information confusing. "When I saw this, I looked down the letterhead, I saw Federal Secretariat Complex, phase three, second floor Central Business District. It was a bit confusing for me. Some of the information looked credible, some did not," he recounted.
Rather than dismiss the letter outright, Kalu said he took the prudent step of dispatching a verification team to inspect the specified secretariat location before scheduling any formal meetings. "I now sent my team to go and verify the existence of this organization in the said address. My team came back confirming that this organization was in the said location," Kalu told the House.
Based on the team's report confirming that the organisation was indeed operating out of the federal complex, Kalu said he gave approval for an interaction with the group. The verification process gave the operation a layer of institutional credibility that ultimately prompted him to grant administrative approval for an official interactive session.
The Deputy Speaker's revelation places him among several high-ranking government officials who met with Adeyemi before the Presidency publicly disowned the council in June 2026. Despite the disclaimer, records show that Adeyemi held meetings with several top officials, including Kalu, EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede, and ministers of state, as well as officials of the Royal Thai Embassy.
The PFIPC controversy began after the Presidency disowned the council, describing it as a non-existent body, following allegations made by Adeyemi against the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila. The Federal Government has since accused Adeyemi of forging government appointment letters and other official documents to falsely present himself as the Director-General of the PFIPC and the Presidential Executive Advisory Council (PEAC), both of which it said are non-existent. Adeyemi is currently standing trial before the Federal High Court in Abuja on an eight-count charge bordering on conspiracy, forgery, and impersonation.
The scandal has also raised troubling questions about how the phantom agency secured a ₦1.3 billion allocation in the 2026 Appropriation Act and opened accounts with the Central Bank of Nigeria. The Senate has said it will not intervene in the controversy unless a formal petition is tendered, insisting the matter is an executive affair. Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu has directed the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate the matter and submit a report within 30 days.
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