The House of Representatives has cleared Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, of any involvement with a suspected fake agency that surfaced in the 2026 federal budget.
An ad hoc committee set up to probe the matter said on Wednesday that it found no evidence Gbajabiamila approved, created, or took part in the activities of the so-called Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, PFIPC.
Committee chairman, Yusuf Gagdi, presented the preliminary findings during a press briefing aired on TVC. According to him, the panel discovered that Gbajabiamila acted immediately after the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission raised red flags about possible fraud and the misuse of official materials.
Within 24 hours, the Chief of Staff contacted the Nigeria Police Force, the Office of the National Security Adviser, the Department of State Services, and the EFCC. He also ordered administrative checks through relevant government bodies, and followed up with more letters when new concerns, including a proposed investment summit, came up.
“The documentary evidence presently before the Committee does not establish that the Chief of Staff authorised, approved, established or participated in the activities of the purported organisation,” Gagdi said. “On the contrary, the evidence demonstrates repeated steps to secure investigation, institutional verification and appropriate administrative action.”
The committee commended Gbajabiamila for the steps he took and said records from the State House showed he did not issue or sign an appointment letter naming one Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi as Director-General of PFIPC. The panel declared that letter forged.
It also rejected two other documents circulated in Adeyemi’s name: a so-called Executive Order No. 5 dated February 24, 2026, and a purported Act of the National Assembly. The committee said neither went through lawful processes, and that parts of another institution’s instrument appeared to have been altered electronically to suggest the council had legal backing.
The lawmakers said they could find no law, executive order, or administrative instrument creating any body known as the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council.
Financial checks done so far, the panel added, have linked about 58 bank accounts to details associated with Adeyemi.
The issue started after PFIPC, allegedly led by Adeyemi, appeared in the 2026 budget despite questions about its legitimacy. Adeyemi had presented himself as DG and claimed he was appointed by Gbajabiamila, while also making claims about funds and operations. Gbajabiamila denied any link, which triggered wider scrutiny of how the group got into the budget.
As the probe continued, the ICPC said it uncovered another suspected fake body, the National Brands Development and Made-in-Nigeria Special Project Office, raising fresh concerns about how unauthorized entities could operate within government structures.
