Fake Agency: Reps panel clears Gbajabiamila

The House of Representatives panel has cleared the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, of involvement in the activities of the purported Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council.

The House Ad Hoc Committee probing the alleged inclusion of the organisation in the Federal Government’s budget framework said it found no evidence that Gbajabiamila approved, established, or participated in the council’s activities.

The committee chairman, Yusuf Gagdi, disclosed this on Wednesday while presenting the panel’s preliminary findings at a press briefing televised by TVC.

The panel said its investigation showed that Gbajabiamila instead alerted security and investigative agencies after concerns about the organisation were brought to his attention.

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It said the concerns were first raised by the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission over suspected fraudulent activities and the alleged misuse of institutional materials.

According to the committee, the Chief of Staff responded within a day by contacting the Nigeria Police Force, the Office of the National Security Adviser, the Department of State Services and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

It added that he also directed administrative verification through relevant government institutions.

The panel said Gbajabiamila later sent further communications seeking investigations and appropriate action when additional concerns emerged, including those surrounding a proposed world investment summit.

“The documentary evidence presently before the Committee does not establish that the Chief of Staff authorised, approved, established or participated in the activities of the purported organisation.

“On the contrary, the evidence demonstrates repeated steps to secure investigation, institutional verification and appropriate administrative action,” the committee said.

The committee consequently commended Gbajabiamila, on a preliminary basis, for the security and administrative measures he took whenever the matter was brought to his attention.

The lawmakers also said they established that a letter purportedly appointing Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi as Director-General of the organisation was forged and falsely attributed to the Presidency.

The document, which purportedly bore Gbajabiamila’s authority and signature, was not issued or approved by the Presidency, according to the committee.

The panel said State House records showed that Gbajabiamila neither issued nor signed the appointment letter.

It also found that the letterhead was not an authentic State House letterhead and that its reference number did not conform to the official referencing system.

The panel also rejected documents presented as a Presidential Executive Order and an Act of the National Assembly purportedly establishing the organisation.

According to the committee, the document described as Executive Order No. 5, dated February 24, 2026, was neither issued nor approved through the lawful processes of the Presidency.

It similarly found that the purported Act was never passed by both chambers of the National Assembly, assented to by the President or gazetted as an Act of the Federation.

The committee said part of an instrument belonging to another institution appeared to have been electronically altered, mutilated or substituted to give the impression that the National Assembly had established the organisation.

The lawmakers said their investigation found no valid law, executive order, administrative instrument or other lawful authority establishing an institution known as the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council.

The committee further said preliminary financial information had linked about 58 bank accounts to identifying details associated with Adeyemi.

The controversy began after the purported PFIPC, allegedly headed by Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, appeared in Nigeria’s 2026 Federal Government budget despite questions over its legal existence.

Adeyemi had presented himself as the council’s Director-General and allegedly claimed that he was appointed by President Bola Tinubu’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, while also making allegations involving funds and the council’s operations.

Gbajabiamila denied involvement, prompting wider questions about how the purported agency obtained a budgetary allocation and operated within government structures.

As investigations into the purported council deepened, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission uncovered another alleged fake government agency, the National Brands Development and Made-in-Nigeria Special Project Office, further raising questions about how purported government bodies could operate without lawful authority.