The Presidency has called on the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to uncover the alleged criminal network that enabled the operation of the fictitious Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC).
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, made the call in a post on X, alleging that internal collaborators helped Prince Matthew Adeniyi sustain the fraudulent scheme while attempting to implicate the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila.
Ajayi described Adeniyi as an “irredeemable con artist” who allegedly exploited public perception of corruption to deflect attention from the criminal allegations against him.
According to him, investigators from the DSS, the Nigeria Police Force and the EFCC have been tasked with uncovering how Adeniyi allegedly forged presidential appointment letters, maintained 34 bank accounts in the names of fictitious government agencies, hosted foreign ambassadors and opened a Central Bank of Nigeria account while posing as the Director-General of the non-existent PFIPC.
“What is not in doubt is that internal collaborators enabled Adeniyi to get this far. That is precisely what investigators from the DSS, the Police and the EFCC must now unravel,” Ajayi said.
He added that anyone found to have aided the scheme should be arrested and prosecuted.
Ajayi also argued that the government system eventually exposed the fraud, noting that officials of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs first detected irregularities and alerted the appropriate authorities.
He said this demonstrated that existing institutions were capable of identifying and addressing such fraudulent activities.
The Presidency had, on June 11, issued a public disclaimer through Gbajabiamila, stating that the PFIPC had no official status and that no appointments had been made under the organisation.
Earlier this week, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, disclosed that Adeniyi was arraigned on an eight-count charge before the Federal High Court in November 2025.
He alleged that Adeniyi operated 34 bank accounts linked to fictitious government agencies and fraudulently opened a CBN account after deceiving the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.
However, human rights lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) has called for an independent investigation by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), arguing that the Presidency lacks the constitutional authority to clear anyone involved in the matter.
Falana also demanded explanations over reports that N24 billion was allegedly budgeted for the non-existent agency and how it was able to open a CBN account.
Adeniyi is expected to appear before the Federal High Court in Abuja on July 27 alongside two co-defendants who remain at large.
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