Disowned PFIPC Director-General says lenders have petitioned the EFCC to recover the money as the Presidency maintains the appointment was forged

Adeniyi Adeyemi, the embattled Director-General of the disowned Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), has revealed that the N400 million he claimed to have paid to secure his controversial appointment was borrowed, saying the creditors have now petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to recover their money.

Also read: “If PFIPC is fake, who put it in the budget?” Adeyemi fires back

Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday night, Adeyemi said the debt had become an additional burden as investigations into the alleged appointment scandal continue.

The Adeyemi N400m Appointment controversy has dominated public attention since the Presidency declared that no agency known as the PFIPC exists under the administration of President Bola Tinubu.

“I borrowed this money. In fact, those that I borrowed this money from have reported to the EFCC. I borrowed this money to pay for this appointment. They have written to the EFCC, asking me to refund their money.

“So, I’m not even here to pay the money back. I borrowed this money,” Adeyemi said.

Describing the government’s response to the controversy as unfair, Adeyemi accused unnamed officials of attempting to portray him as someone who manipulated the entire system.

“Imagine the government claiming I manoeuvre the whole system. It’s unfortunate,” he said.

Responding to reports that a United States lobbying firm was assisting him in seeking asylum, Adeyemi dismissed the claims, saying he had only learned of them through media reports.

“I read it the way you read it. Some people call me that they are looking for me,” he said.

Adeyemi added that he had become largely disconnected from developments surrounding the controversy because his social media accounts had been taken down.

“I just ignore; because they sponsor a lot of people to bring my social media handle down. So, I don’t really know much what is going on again. I just hear from family and friends,” he said.

He also denied reports suggesting he intended to flee Nigeria.

“They pulled my social media handle down, and they still reported that I was about to run away out of Nigeria. I’m still in Nigeria. I’m not going anywhere,” Adeyemi stated.

The controversy began on June 11, when the Presidency, in a disclaimer signed by Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, announced that no agency known as the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council existed within the Federal Government and described Adeyemi as an impostor.

The matter escalated further on July 1, when the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, disclosed that police investigations allegedly found that Adeyemi forged a presidential appointment letter purportedly signed by Gbajabiamila, operated a fictitious government agency and maintained 34 bank accounts, including nine allegedly opened in the names of non-existent government bodies.

According to the Presidency, concerns over the council first surfaced in October 2025 after the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission complained that another government-styled organisation appeared to be carrying out similar functions, prompting official scrutiny.

Despite those findings, Adeyemi has consistently maintained that his appointment was authentic.

He argues that he operated publicly for almost three years, interacting with ministries, departments and agencies and receiving foreign delegations without objections from government institutions.

Adeyemi has also alleged that Gbajabiamila received N400 million through a proxy to facilitate the appointment, later demanded an additional N200 million, and sought 48 per cent of a purported N27.4 billion take-off grant earmarked for the council.

Lawyers representing the Chief of Staff have rejected the allegations as false and threatened N10 billion defamation proceedings against Adeyemi.

In a subsequent interview with activist Martins Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, Adeyemi acknowledged that he had never met Gbajabiamila personally and could not verify the identity of the individual with whom he communicated by telephone regarding the alleged appointment.

The controversy has been further complicated by revelations that the PFIPC appeared in the 2026 Appropriation Act with a budgetary allocation exceeding N1.3 billion, raising fresh questions about how an agency the Presidency insists does not exist was included in the national budget.

President Bola Tinubu has since directed the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate the matter and submit its findings within 30 days.

Also read: Adeyemi demands probe, renews claims against Gbajabiamila

While the Presidency maintains that Adeyemi forged official documents and operated unlawfully, Adeyemi continues to insist he was legitimately appointed, leaving investigators to determine the authenticity of the competing claims.