The so‑called Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) was modelled as a body to drive foreign investment into Nigeria. It rented space at the Federal Secretariat, employed over 300 civil servants and operated from a .gov.ng website, yet it never had any legal basis.
When the 2026 national budget was signed, the council was given a budget line of 1.3bn naira (about $950,000). The allocation seemed legitimate, until the government declared the council a fabrication. The "legitimacy" was supported by a single forged appointment letter claiming President Bola Tinubu authorised the director general, Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, and the letter bore the signature of the president’s chief of staff.
Adeyemi insists the council was legally established in 2024 and that he was properly appointed. He accuses senior officials of demanding bribes to secure his position and later trying to seize the council’s funds. The president has ordered the anti‑corruption commission (ICPC) to investigate and report within 30 days. Critics demand an independent judicial inquiry.
The investigation has highlighted how long‑standing checks in the Nigerian system can be bypassed. The secretary to the government of the federation, a senior official who authorises agencies and budget codes, had knowledge of the council’s creation, suggesting collusion. Likewise, the accountant‑general’s office initially confirmed a central bank account had been opened, a claim later refuted.
No money appears to have left the treasury, but the scandal exposes the ease with which a phantom agency can be set up, staffed, and funded. The case raises broader questions about the expansion of government bodies, which have more than doubled in number since a 2012 review suggested cutting them. The court date for Adeyemi is 27 July, with witnesses from the president’s office and 10 others lined up to testify.
