Fake Agency PFIPC Scandal: House Probes How N1.3bn Entered Nigeria’s Budget

A government agency that does not exist. A budget allocation of N1.3 billion. And a trail of forged documents that has shaken Nigeria’s entire public accountability system.

Nigeria’s House of Representatives has launched an urgent investigation into how the non-existent Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council secured a budget allocation of N1.3 billion in the 2026 national appropriation. This follows President Tinubu’s directive to the ICPC to investigate the matter within 30 days and a police manhunt for Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, who presented himself as the agency’s Director-General and is accused of using forged documents to establish and run a fictitious government body.

How the Fake Agency Operated

The Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, known as PFIPC, does not exist as a legitimate government body. According to investigators, Adeyemi allegedly used forged appointment letters purportedly signed by Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila to give the agency a veneer of official standing. The fake council then secured office space within the Federal Secretariat in Abuja, opened bank accounts with the Central Bank of Nigeria, received diplomatic visitors, and appeared in the 2026 Appropriation Act with a total budget allocation of N1,302,978,784.

The presidency has confirmed that forensic analysis found the signature on the disputed appointment letter was forged. Investigators have also disclosed that Adeyemi operated 34 bank accounts linked to non-existent government bodies, suggesting this was not a one-off scheme but a systematic pattern of institutional fraud.

Counter-allegations and Complications

The case has taken a dramatic turn as Adeyemi himself has fought back publicly, alleging that Gbajabiamila collected N400 million from him to facilitate his appointment and later demanded 48 per cent of the council’s alleged N27.4 billion take-off grant. Gbajabiamila has categorically denied these allegations and issued a N10 billion defamation lawsuit threat through his lawyers. The accused DG later admitted in a social media interview that he had never actually met Gbajabiamila in person.

Furthermore, a key witness in the case died in a hotel fire five days before Adeyemi’s arrest, adding a deeply alarming dimension to what was already a remarkable story. Atiku Abubakar has rejected the ICPC probe, insisting only an independent commission can restore public confidence in any investigation outcome.

What the House Is Investigating

The House ad hoc committee has been mandated to determine exactly how a budget provision for a non-existent agency entered the 2026 Appropriation framework, who introduced it, at what stage it appeared, and which government officials had responsibility for verifying the agency’s existence before approving the allocation.

That question cuts to the heart of Nigeria’s budget process integrity. If a completely fictitious organisation can secure N1.3 billion in a national budget, sign into the Federal Secretariat, open Central Bank accounts, and receive foreign diplomats, the vulnerability of Nigeria’s institutional systems to sophisticated fraud is a crisis that extends well beyond any single individual.