Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has ordered a formal corruption investigation after a fictitious government agency managed to embed itself within the structures of his own administration, secure office space in the country's main government complex, and win a budget allocation of 1.3 billion naira (approximately $950,000) in the 2026 national spending plan. The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has been given 30 days to produce a comprehensive report.
The agency in question, the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), has no legal basis under Nigerian law but reportedly operated from within the Federal Secretariat in Abuja — the vast government complex that houses many of Nigeria's ministries. It had a staff of three, opened bank accounts in its name and appeared to have secured at least some trappings of official legitimacy. Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, who presented himself as the council's director general and claimed it had been established in 2024 to attract foreign investment, is now the subject of a police manhunt. He faces charges of forgery, impersonation and fraud before the Federal High Court in Abuja, with a court date set for 27 July. Before going into hiding, Adeyemi told local media he was innocent and feared for his life, but pledged to cooperate with investigators and appear in court.
The presidency maintains that the appointment letter bearing the signature of President Tinubu's chief of staff, Femi Gbajabiamila — the document that granted the council its veneer of official standing — was a forgery, a conclusion it says police forensic analysis supports. Gbajabiamila has denied ever meeting Adeyemi and has threatened a 10 billion naira defamation suit over allegations made against him. Adeyemi, in turn, has softened his earlier accusations, telling interviewers he cannot confirm with certainty whether it was truly Gbajabiamila he spoke with by phone on several occasions, as contact was made through a now-deceased associate. He has nonetheless maintained that he paid 400 million naira to secure his appointment letter and that senior officials later demanded additional sums he refused to pay — allegations the presidency has denied.
Officials stress that no public funds were ultimately disbursed to the PFIPC, with the Accountant-General's Office stating the agency never held an operational account with the Central Bank of Nigeria. Yet the scandal has raised uncomfortable questions about how a nonexistent body managed to appear in a national budget and acquire the appearance of official legitimacy in the first place. Tinubu has directed investigators to examine precisely those procedural weaknesses, as well as the role of any public officer, private individual or financial institution that may have facilitated the scheme.
The affair has intensified pressure on Tinubu from civil society organisations, opposition politicians and senior lawyers, all demanding an independent inquiry. It also returns Nigeria's persistent governance and corruption challenges to the spotlight. The president's office issued a firm statement, saying the integrity of federal institutions "must be protected against impersonation, forgery, abuse of official identity and the exploitation of weaknesses in the public service," and that all those found culpable would face the full force of the law.