The Director-General of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, has explained why he established the agency. According to him, his aim was to attract foreign investors to Nigeria and support the administration of President Bola Tinubu, not to pursue personal gain.
Matthew, who is facing charges over the controversial agency, spoke during a video call with social critic Martins Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, on Wednesday, July 8.
“I established that amount (rumoured N400 million) 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.”
Matthew also questioned the Presidency’s claim that the council does not exist, saying he was unaware of how the agency appeared in the national budget.
“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.”he said
Responding to questions about a petition filed against him by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, Matthew said he never met with him over matters concerning the agency but admitted speaking with him on the telephone through his late friend, Dolapo Tanimola and has documents to support the establishment of the agency.
“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.”he said
