Nigeria's Ghost Agency Got an Office, a Bank Account, and Nearly $1 Million in the National Budget. Nobody Noticed for Over a Year.

It started with a forged letter. It ended with a fictitious government council securing office space at Nigeria's Federal Secretariat, opening bank accounts with the Central Bank of Nigeria, appearing in the 2026 national budget with an allocation of ₦1.3 billion approximately $944,300 and operating for over a year before anyone in the government formally raised an alarm. The story of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council is not just a tale of individual fraud. It is a forensic map of exactly how Nigeria's institutional oversight fails.

Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, PFIPC's director general.

The Man Behind the Council

Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew presented himself as the Director-General of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, claiming the agency had been established in 2024 to attract foreign investment to Nigeria. To support that claim, he produced an appointment letter bearing the name of Chief of Staff to the President Femi Gbajabiamila. The letter was forged. Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga described Adeyemi as a "con artist" with a documented history of fraudulent misrepresentation, noting that in November 2016 he had paraded himself as an ambassador and President-General of the World Youth Organisation, an alleged UN affiliate.

Using that forged letter, Adeyemi secured office space at the Federal Secretariat in Abuja, home to many of Nigeria's legitimate ministries. He opened multiple bank accounts in the council's name, including a domiciliary account and a Treasury Single Account domiciled at the Central Bank of Nigeria. His council developed a website, conducted what it described as official engagements, and sought diplomatic support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including visa facilitation for foreign dignitaries. There is no record of any foreign investment deal being concluded.

How the Budget Allocation Happened

According to the Good Governance Group, a civil society organisation that conducted an independent investigation, the ₦1.3 billion allocation was concealed in the 2026 Appropriation Act under the name "Presidential Economic Advisory Council" a legitimate body that had existed under former President Muhammadu Buhari. The similarity in names, the group alleged, allowed the budget entry to pass through the legislative review process without attracting scrutiny. Three civil servants were deployed to the council by the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.

The Senate approved the ₦1.3 billion allocation without any official of the council appearing before the Senate Committee on Appropriations to defend the budget line, a standard requirement for government agencies. The Nigerian Senate is now under pressure to explain how a body with no legal existence cleared its budget review process entirely. A National Assembly source confirmed that the Senate leadership discussed the matter in plenary on July 7, specifically to address "alleged complicity by any of its presiding officers."

The Alarm That Came Late

The Chief of Staff's office first blew the whistle in October 2025, after officials from the legitimate Nigerian Investment Promotion Council complained that another agency appeared to be functioning at cross-purposes with it. Gbajabiamila wrote to the DSS and police to probe "fraudsters and imposters" forging appointment letters from his office. Eight-count charges including forgery of official documents, false impersonation, and obtaining recognition by false pretence  were filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja on November 27, 2025. Adeyemi was placed on police bail. He subsequently gave media interviews claiming innocence and alleging that Gbajabiamila had collected ₦400 million by proxy to secure his appointment, with ₦200 million still outstanding, a claim the presidency has denied. He is due in court on July 27.

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