I Borrowed N400m To Secure PFIPC Appointment — ‘Fake’ DG Adeyemi

The controversy surrounding the appointment of Adeyemi Adeniyi, the embattled Director-General of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), deepened on Monday after he claimed he borrowed N400 million to allegedly secure the position.

Speaking during an interview on Channels Television on Monday, Adeyemi maintained his earlier allegation that President Bola Tinubu’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, received N400 million through a proxy to facilitate his appointment and later demanded an additional N200 million before confirming him in office.

Explaining how he sourced the money, Adeyemi said he obtained loans to raise the N400 million and has yet to repay the debt.

“I borrowed this money (N400million). In fact, those that I borrowed this N400million from have reported to the EFCC. I borrowed the money to pay for this appointment. I’m even yet to repay the money,” he said.

His latest remarks come despite repeated denials by the Presidency, which has described the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council as a non-existent agency and distanced the administration from Adeyemi.

The controversy has, however, persisted following reports that the council allegedly received allocations in the federal budget and operated from an office within the Federal Secretariat Complex in Abuja.

Adeyemi also denied allegations that he falsely presented himself as a United Nations ambassador, insisting the claims were politically motivated.

“It is all sponsored. It is a campaign of calumny,” he said.

The embattled official had earlier accused Gbajabiamila of receiving N400 million through an intermediary before allegedly requesting an additional N200 million to finalise his appointment as head of the council.

The Presidency has consistently rejected the allegations, insisting that the PFIPC has no legal existence and describing Adeyemi’s claims as false.

The dispute has since expanded beyond the bribery allegations, with fresh questions emerging over how the agency allegedly secured public funding despite the Presidency’s insistence that it was never lawfully established.

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Police Force has concluded plans to arraign Adeyemi before the Federal High Court in Abuja over allegations of forgery, impersonation and related offences.

According to the police charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/562/2025, Adeyemi and two other defendants are facing eight counts, including forgery and impersonation.

Police investigators alleged that Adeyemi operated the purported Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council from the second floor of the Federal Secretariat Complex, Phase III, Abuja, before his arrest.

The controversy prompted President Tinubu to direct the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate the activities of the agency within 30 days.

The scandal has also attracted criticism from opposition parties and political figures, who have called for an independent investigation into how the agency allegedly received a ₦1.302 billion allocation in the 2026 Appropriation Act despite the Presidency’s insistence that it lacked legal status.

Although the Senate declined to launch a separate investigation pending the outcome of the ICPC probe, opposition parties have continued to demand a transparent inquiry into both the appropriation process and Adeyemi’s bribery allegations.

The conflicting accounts by Adeyemi, the Presidency’s denial and reports of the agency’s inclusion in the federal budget have intensified public scrutiny over appointments, budget implementation and accountability within the Tinubu administration.