Former Sports Minister Solomon Dalung says Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila should step aside to allow an independent investigation into the alleged Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council controversy

Former Minister of Youth and Sports Development Solomon Dalung has called for the suspension of the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, over the controversy surrounding the alleged Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), arguing that a credible investigation cannot proceed without scrutinising the President’s closest aide.

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Dalung made the call during an appearance on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Friday, where he described Gbajabiamila as the “number one suspect” in the unfolding controversy and urged the Presidency to allow an independent investigation.

“Anybody who is not looking at the Chief of Staff to the President as a prime suspect is complicit in the entire transaction and needs to be investigated,” Dalung said.

He argued that the office of the Chief of Staff serves as the primary gateway to the Presidency and should therefore be central to any inquiry into how an individual allegedly gained access to the Presidential Villa while presenting himself as the head of a non-existent government agency.

“The Chief of Staff, who is the ear and the eyes of the President, the gatekeeper, and the first contact point with the office of the President, should, by this time, have been suspended before any other investigation because they are not going to make any headway without him,” he added.

Dalung questioned how businessman Adeyemi Adeniyi Matthew, who allegedly claimed to be the Director-General of the purported Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, was able to gain access to the Presidential Villa.

“Adeniyi did not access the Villa except when somebody granted him a pass. The Villa is not Zone 4 or a marketplace.

Even if you have an appointment in the Villa, you must be accredited with a pass to gain entry, and the designated area of your visit must be captured within the security network of the Villa,” he said.

According to Dalung, the Chief of Staff should explain the circumstances surrounding the alleged access.

“The Chief of Staff to the President is the number one suspect because he is responsible for either misleading the President, deliberately failing to provide the relevant information because of his vested interest in the matter, or creating this embarrassing situation in pursuit of a personal and selfish agenda,” he said.

The remarks come after the Presidency distanced itself from claims by Adeyemi Adeniyi Matthew that he had been appointed to lead the alleged Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council.

Presidential officials maintained that no such agency exists and accused Matthew of forging official documents to present himself as its Director-General.

Dalung, however, argued that the investigation should not be limited to the businessman but should also examine the roles of senior government officials.

“Those that Nigeria should hold accountable: number one, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu; number two, the Chief of Staff; number three, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation; number four, the National Security Adviser; number five, the Director-General of the DSS; number six, the Chairman of the EFCC; and number seven, the Central Bank Governor.

“These people, in my view, played roles in embarrassing Nigeria,” he said.

Describing the controversy as a matter of national importance, Dalung alleged that the incident pointed to a much wider problem within the nation’s highest levels of government.

“The current scenario is an elephant, an elephant-sized criminal enterprise, that the carpet in the Villa is too small to hide,” he said.

He maintained that investigators should first determine how the alleged actors became connected to the Presidency before drawing conclusions.

“The first thing the government must do is start where the problem began.

How did these people become connected with the Villa? The first person who should step aside to enable a proper investigation is the Chief of Staff to the President,” Dalung stated.

He also warned against attempts to shield public officials from scrutiny, saying transparency was essential to preserving public confidence in government institutions.

“Anybody trying to insinuate a cover-up is part and parcel of this grand design to embarrass and destroy Nigeria,” he said.

The allegations come amid heightened public attention over the claimed existence of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council.

Also read: EXPOSED: Council disowned by Gbajabiamila appears in 2026 budget with N1.3bn allocation

While the Presidency has insisted that the agency does not exist and has described Adeyemi Adeniyi Matthew as an impostor, no findings have yet linked any senior government official to wrongdoing. Investigations into the matter are continuing.