New details have emerged showing how the alleged fraud tied to Adeniyi Adeyemi, the disowned Director-General of the controversial Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), penetrated key levels of Nigeria’s civil service.
A review of case documents by Premium Times found that some civil servants and government agencies processed letters that helped Adeyemi obtain a Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) account, a budget code, office space at the Federal Secretariat, and staff postings — privileges typically reserved for legitimate government bodies.
Although the letters were listed as exhibits in the Federal Government’s case against Adeyemi, a police investigation report showed that the officials who allegedly approved, signed, or processed the documents have not been questioned.
The revelations have raised concerns about the competence and judgment of senior civil servants who handled requests linked to the disputed agency. Premium Times said it could not independently verify the authenticity of the letters, but noted that questioning the affected officials would help establish whether they were forged and why they were issued in the first place.
A former Director-General of the Bureau of Public Service Reforms, Joe Abah, said the scandal exposed serious lapses in government processes. “Anyhow you look at it, questions are begging for answers. And whatever the answers will be, they will not be good,” he said.
Below is a breakdown of the officials and agencies implicated.
The Presidency
Documents show that the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF), the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President, the Office of the National Security Adviser, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the police uncovered Adeyemi’s alleged fraud as far back as November 2025.
In October 2025, Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila wrote to the Inspector General of Police and the Director-General of the State Security Service, accusing Adeyemi of forgery and urging an investigation. On 27 October, he wrote to the Minister of Foreign Affairs disclaiming Adeyemi after the ministry sought clarification, and on 5 November wrote to the SGF disowning both the man and his agency, insisting the presidency never created it or appointed anyone to lead it.
Despite this, no public disclaimer was issued until June 2026 — more than six months later — during which Adeyemi allegedly continued his activities unchecked. Why the delay remains unanswered.
Femi Gbajabiamila — Chief of Staff to the President
Adeyemi claims Gbajabiamila signed his letter of appointment. Police say the letter is fake, and Gbajabiamila has denied issuing it. He was in fact the first official to publicly disown Adeyemi. Yet the police investigation report admits that neither Gbajabiamila nor his office has been formally interviewed, and his actual signature has not been obtained for forensic comparison against the alleged forged document.
A presidency source, speaking anonymously, said the police ought to explain the delay in questioning him. Gbajabiamila’s aide, Olanrewaju Smart, dismissed the appointment-letter claim as implausible, arguing that the Chief of Staff does not issue appointment letters — that function belongs strictly to the SGF — and questioned why Adeyemi has photos with numerous influential Nigerians but none with Gbajabiamila.
Budget Office of the Federation
One of the most striking aspects of the scandal is how an agency the government insists does not exist secured a budget code and had its allocation approved in the 2026 budget. Who assigned the code, and how was this possible? Who vetted the State House budget that captured it? Neither the government nor police investigators have answered these questions.
Nnamdi Mbaeri — OSGF
As then-Permanent Secretary, General Services Office, Mbaeri signed a letter dated 21 November 2024 asking the EFCC to allocate recovered government property as office space for PFIPC. He retired in July 2025. Investigators have yet to ask whether he verified the agency’s existence, its establishment law, or his basis for acting on the request.
Nadungu Gagare — OSGF
On 24 June 2025, Gagare, Permanent Secretary for Political and Economic Affairs, invited PFIPC’s “DG” to join Nigeria’s delegation to a Canada-Africa Fintech Summit. He has yet to explain how he became aware of the agency or why he extended such an invitation.
George Akume — Secretary to the Government of the Federation
Akume’s office is solely responsible for issuing appointment letters to government officials, yet it never issued one to Adeyemi — even as it processed requests on his agency’s behalf, including directives for office space. Questions remain over how his office began engaging with a non-existent entity.
OAGF officials who requested CBN accounts
A letter dated 29 July 2025 from the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation asked the CBN to open dollar and pound domiciliary accounts for PFIPC. The signing official could not be identified, though a CBN reply confirming the accounts referenced the letter. Investigators have not established what due diligence, if any, preceded the request.
Hamisu Abdullahi — CBN
As CBN’s Director of Banking Services, Abdullahi replied on 13 August 2025 confirming the domiciliary accounts had been created, listing the account names and numbers. How the bank verified the agency’s legitimacy before opening the accounts remains unclear.
Mulikat Sanni — OAGF
As Director, Treasury Inspectorate, Sanni signed a 26 March 2025 letter granting Adeyemi’s agency six months of provisional self-accounting status. Such approval typically requires physical verification by her department. It is unclear who conducted that verification or what it found — the police have not sought this information.
Dauda Abdulhamid — OAGF
As Director of Administration, Abdulhamid signed off on the posting of over 300 civil servants across government agencies on 28 August 2025, including three officers posted to PFIPC.
The Police and Judiciary
The police took from 23 October to 13 November 2025 to complete their investigation, with charges filed on 27 November. Yet the first court hearing was not scheduled until 27 July — eight months later — raising questions about the pace of prosecution for what should be treated as a criminal matter.
Kashifu Inuwa — DG, NITDA
PFIPC’s website, pfipc.gov.ng, received domain approval from NITDA, which regulates Nigeria’s official “.gov.ng” domains. WHOIS records show the domain was created on 30 September 2024 by NITDA webmasters, though the site has since gone offline. NITDA’s DG, Kashifu Inuwa, has yet to explain how the fake agency passed the verification process required for such domains.
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