*You Can’t Be Judge, Jury, Atiku Tells Tinubu

*Govt Drowning In Scandals Can’t Investigate Itself, Says

*Senate Awaits ICPC Report, House Asks Committee To Dig In

*Kalu: Adeyemi Deceived Me With Presidency Letterhead

*Adeyemi Says Established Council Due To Passion For Nigeria’s Outlook

 

*I’ll Give Documents To DSS, Police’

MANY Nigerians are skeptical about the outcome of President Bola Tinubu’s order to the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate the alleged fake body operating as the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) within 30 days and submit a comprehensive report.

    The directive, conveyed on Tuesday, July 7, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, insisted the PFIPC was never established by the Federal Government and has no legal, constitutional or executive foundation.

    According to Onanuga, the investigation followed the discovery that one Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, claiming to be a presidential appointee, allegedly masqueraded as the director general of the non-existent council.

    Onanuga said Tinubu directed the ICPC to investigate the alleged use of forged appointment letters and other official government documents and claims that the fake presidential appointment was used to seek official recognition, diplomatic support, including visa facilitation, and to open multiple bank accounts in the names of purported government agencies.

    Beyond Adeyemi, Tinubu directed ICPC to identify and investigate all collaborators and determine how the fictitious organisation was able to acquire an appearance of official legitimacy.

    Onanuga said the probe will examine the origin and use of forged official documents, processes through which official recognition or diplomatic support may have been sought or obtained, opening and operation of related bank accounts, source and movement of funds and role of any public official, financial institution, intermediary or private individual that may have facilitated or participated in the alleged scheme.

    The President also charged the Commission to identify institutional and procedural loopholes that may have been exploited and recommend immediate reforms to prevent a recurrence.

    To ensure a speedy investigation, all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) were instructed to provide the Commission, upon lawful request, with all relevant records, documents and other assistance required to conclude the probe within the stipulated period.

    Tinubu stressed that the Presidency and Federal Government institutions must be protected against impersonation, forgery, abuse of official identity and the exploitation of weaknesses in the public service, directing that anyone found culpable at the conclusion of the investigation should be prosecuted in accordance with the law.

        In his reaction, former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, described the probe order as face-saving and internal cover-up to shield powerful actors within the Presidential Villa.

    Atiku, in a statement signed by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, demanded the immediate dissolution of the ICPC probe in favour of a Special Independent Commission of Inquiry, composed of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), opposition parties, civil society organisations and retired Judges.

    He stated: “What Nigerians demanded was never another internal government investigation; we demanded an independent investigation. In every constitutional democracy, a party whose conduct is under scrutiny cannot simultaneously appoint itself investigator, judge and final authority over its own case.”

    Atiku added: “Only one week ago, the Presidency emphatically told Nigerians that the matter had already been thoroughly investigated by the Police… If all of that is true, what exactly is the ICPC expected to spend another 30 days investigating?

    “The issue before Nigerians is no longer whether one individual allegedly forged documents; the issue is how an organisation the Presidency insists never existed allegedly acquired office accommodation, interacted with government institutions, sought diplomatic recognition, reportedly conducted recruitment exercises, operated multiple bank accounts and projected the authority of government over an extended period. Bureaucracies do not unknowingly sustain.”

    On its part, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) rejected the ICPC probe, saying the anti-graft agency answers directly to the executive and might be compromised.

    ADC’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, accused the Presidency of already pre-judging the investigation by declaring Adeyemi’s documents as “forgeries” before the ICPC could even commence forensic evaluation.

    According to him: “A government that is drowning in scandals cannot be trusted to investigate itself. A Presidency that is at the very heart of a historic scandal such as this does not have the credibility to authorise an investigation into a matter that has brought an entire country into disrepute.”   

    The party also condemned the reported arrest of Adeyemi’s father by security operatives, calling it a desperate act of state intimidation.

    It noted: “The investigation must be allowed to independently determine whether the documents were forged, improperly issued, fraudulently obtained or lawfully issued under the authority of the Presidency.

    “This act of intimidation only strengthens the impression that government is panicking and is desperate to hide the truth rather than uncover it.”

    As the drama unfolded, the National Assembly has become sharply divided over the matter during plenary on Wednesday. 

    While the House of Representatives set up a high-powered ad hoc committee to track how the council bypassed rigorous checks to secure N1.3billion in this year’s Appropriation Act, the Senate blocked an attempt to launch a parallel legislative inquiry, choosing instead to await the outcome of the executive-led anti-graft probe.

    At the Green Chamber, lawmakers expressed alarm over how a non-existent council operated from the Federal Secretariat Complex in Abuja for nearly a year, engaged foreign diplomatic missions, and successfully inserted a N1, 302,978,000 allocations, under budget code 0111062001.

    Moving a motion of urgent public importance, Yusuf Gagdi warned that the breach exposed a dangerous vulnerability in Nigeria’s appropriation process, noting: “The entity allegedly relied on documents claiming to be an Act codified as Chapter N2117 of the Laws of the Federation, whereas no such legislation exists.

    “The nearest existing law is the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission, NIPC Act, which the purported council appeared to duplicate.”   

    The House subsequently gave its ad hoc committee a four-week mandate to summon the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning and Director General of the Budget Office to explain the verification lapses.

    It also directed the committee to verify all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) listed in the 2025 and 2026 appropriation frameworks against their legal instruments of establishment and receive briefings from relevant security and anti-corruption agencies without prejudicing the ongoing court case.

    The House urged the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation to ensure that no funds were released or warrants honoured in favour of the disputed entity, pending the outcome of the investigation.

    It resolved that henceforth, the Budget Office should submit alongside every Appropriation Bill, a comprehensive list of all MDAs proposed for funding, indicating the legal instrument establishing each agency to prevent similar occurrences.

    While supporting the motion, Chairman of the House Committee on National Security and Intelligence, Ahmed Satomi, described the development as a grave threat to the integrity of Nigeria’s budgetary process.

    Satomi it was disturbing that a council allegedly unknown to both the Presidency and National Assembly could secure budgetary allocations, noting: “This is a nationally important issue. We must investigate it thoroughly because it affects the sanctity of our budget process and the confidence Nigerians have in parliament.”

    Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, narrated how he met Adeyemi in his office after receiving what appeared to be an official letter bearing the Presidency’s insignia.

    Speaking in support of a motion, Kalu said he was among those deceived by the group’s claims of legitimacy, adding: “I rise this morning to support the motion that has been properly moved by my friend and brother from Plateau State.

    “It is quite embarrassing that people have the kind of boldness exhibited, moving around with what is not in existence, carrying themselves as if they are a legal entity.”

    Kalu disclosed that his office received a letter dated May 2, 2025, on a letterhead bearing the Presidency and identifying the sender as the director general of both the Presidential Economic Advisory Council and Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council.

  He said although some aspects of the letter raised doubts, it contained what appeared to be authentic details, including an address at the Federal Secretariat Complex and a government website, adding: “When I saw this, I looked down at the letterhead. I saw the Federal Secretariat Complex, Phase 3, 2nd Floor, Central Business District.

    “I also saw the website, pfipc.gov.ng. It was a bit confusing for me. Some of the information looked credible, some did not.

    “I sent my team to go and verify the existence of this organisation at the said address. They came back confirming that this organisation was in the said location.

    “I then gave approval for them to come and have the interaction they had written for.”

    Kalu explained that the visitors had requested a meeting to discuss constitutional amendment, economic governance, legislative priorities and collaboration on foreign investment, but the discussion took a different direction.

    He stated: “When they came and started engaging, the issues they mentioned in the letter were not what they engaged on. They did not talk about the Constitution that we were amending; they were more about photo taking.

    “This goes on to show that a beautiful letterhead that has the Presidency is no longer confirmation that an agency is legal. It goes to show that an address that shows Federal Secretariat does not mean that that particular agency is legal.”

    Kalu urged his colleagues to support the motion and conduct a thorough investigation into how the alleged council operated, saying: “It is our duty, based on Sections 88 and 89 of the Constitution, to dig deeper into this matter.

    “I urge members to support this motion for the House to show Nigerians that we are in support of transparency and accountability in governance.”

    In contrast, the senate opted to await ICPC report, rather than institute a probe panel.

    Senator Kawu Sumaila (Kano South), citing Order 9 and Rule 9(c) of the Senate Standing Orders, had attempted to move a substantive motion demanding that the Senate Committees on Ethics and Appropriations investigate how the council, which the Presidency has described as non-existent, secured a N1.3billion allocation in this year’s budget.

    But Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, who presided over plenary, stopped the mover mid-way, insisting the National Assembly must give the ICPC a chance to complete its 30-day mandate.

    He ruled: “As I said earlier, the Presidency has taken up this matter by directing that the ICPC investigate fully how this matter came to be. And I think ICPC has started.

    “I believe that what we need to do at this stage is to have the report of the ICPC, and then we can act on that report and deal with it as we feel appropriate.”

    As heat on him increases, Adeyemi has disclosed that he established the council because of his passion for Nigeria’s outlook in the world, attracting foreign investors and promoting Tinubu’s administration, rather than for personal interest.

    In an interview with social media critic, Martins Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), in a video call on Wednesday, he also claimed that he was not aware of his agency’s budget insertion and defence in the national budget approved by the National Assembly assented to by the President.

    According to him: “I established that amount (rumoured N400million) for the agency’s office out of passion for the country. I wanted to bring in foreign investors to Nigeria, so that I can write my name in gold. I am just desperate to serve.

    “That’s the reason I paid the money. I just want to do my part for the country. That agency was established to bring in foreign investments to Nigeria and make Nigeria a preferred destination for foreign investors.

    “I walk around the inter-ministerial agencies and partner with the MDAs and EFCC to make Nigeria a preferred world destination for investments. So, it’s not about personal interest.

    “Before this whole brouhaha, we were expecting the world to be in Nigeria through our forthcoming global summit.”

    The embattled Adeyemi dismissed insistence that the council was non-existent, saying: “This whole thing is confusing, especially when the Presidency said that the agency does not exist. How come?

    “The agency that found its way into the national budget. I didn’t prepare any budget. In fact, I was in detention for 23 days when the budget for the Presidential Foreign Council was prepared and defended in the National Assembly between October and November.

    “The former inspector general of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, had invited me to explain how I came about the agency from the Chief of Staff to the President. I gave him the name and number of the person that facilitated the appointment letter for me. I was thereafter detained.

    “How come the budget that nobody defended still found its way into the national budget? By the time I came out on November 19, 2025, I was charged to court and they said the same office space had been reallocated to another government official.

    “So, I’ve not been going to the office since that October 27.”

    In a fresh twist, Adeyemi said he could not say for certain whether Gbajabiamila was involved or not, as he did not meet with him to discuss the petition, but admitted speaking with him on the phone through his late friend, the late Dolapo Tanimola.

    He stated that he has all the documents backing the establishment of the council and was willing to submit them to the relevant authorities and ready to turn himself in for further clarification.

    “Any moment from now, I will go to the Police and DSS to submit every document that I have to support the investigation.

    “My friend (Tanimola), who paid the money for the establishment of the agency, is now dead in a fire accident in a hotel in Utako, Abuja.”

    The Police said Tanimola died on admission at the National Hospital on October 22, last year, following a fire incident at Kachi Hotel in Utako, Abuja, a few days before Adeyemi’s arrest.

    Asked if he believed Gbajabiamila was lying about his knowledge of the council, Adeyemi said: “I wouldn’t say he is lying, and I wouldn’t say he is telling the truth. That is why I requested… if you saw it from my press conference, I said I plead with Mr. President to set up an investigative panel to look into this whole issue and unravel the truth, so we would know who are (those) involved.”

    He pledged to cooperate with investigators by submitting documents in his possession.

    Adeyemi had previously accused Gbajabiamila of issuing him the appointment later and only disclaimed him after he refused to yield to extraordinary demands.

    He also claimed to have paid Gbajabiamila N400million through a proxy (ostensibly Tanimola) and that they fell out when he demanded an additional N200million, adding that the President’s chief of staff had demanded 48 per cent of the PFIPC’s N27.4billion take-off grant, which he rejected.

    On Tuesday, Gbajabiamila threatened a N10billion defamation suit against Adeyemi over the allegations.

    Recall that the accountant general earlier said the council had no Central bank of Nigeria (CBN) account and received no funds.