SENATE TO ADDRESS N1.3BN PFIPC BUDGET CONTROVERSY AS FORGED APPOINTMENT LETTER SCANDAL DEEPENS
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By: Muftau Fatimo
The Senate is expected to address the controversy surrounding the N1.3 billion allocation to the controversial Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) when plenary resumes on Tuesday, amid growing revelations of an alleged forgery and institutional failures that gave legitimacy to the agency.
Investigations revealed that Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Mathew allegedly secured office space at the Federal Secretariat in Abuja using a forged appointment letter bearing a falsified signature of the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila. The document was reportedly accepted by the Civil Service Headquarters without proper verification, allowing the council to operate with the appearance of a legitimate government agency for more than a year.
Sources within the Presidency and the civil service said multiple lapses across the Budget Office, the House of Representatives, and the Civil Service Headquarters enabled the alleged fraud to go undetected.
According to the sources, the controversial N1.3 billion allocation was included in the 2026 Appropriation Act without any official from the council appearing before the Senate Committee on Establishment and Public Service to defend the budget.
A National Assembly source alleged that the allocation was inserted through a “backdoor arrangement” as part of submissions from the Presidency, bypassing the normal budget scrutiny process.
Presidency officials maintained that the appointment letter used by Adeyemi violated established constitutional procedures, noting that appointments to agencies under the Presidency are made by the President and formally conveyed through the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), not the Chief of Staff.
A senior civil servant disclosed that Adeyemi allegedly exploited the loophole by presenting the forged letter to obtain office space, which subsequently gave credibility to the council through official stationery, a website, and meetings with government officials and foreign visitors.
The source added that the office has since been sealed and reassigned following Adeyemi’s arrest, although he allegedly continued operating outside the Federal Secretariat.
Another Presidency official said the alleged fraud was first uncovered after the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) noticed that the council was encroaching on its statutory responsibilities. The matter was subsequently reported to the Chief of Staff, who denied any knowledge of Adeyemi and referred the case to the Department of State Services (DSS).
Officials also alleged that Adeyemi has since violated his bail conditions and could face re-arrest.
The controversy has sparked widespread reactions, with the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) demanding certified records relating to the budget approval process and threatening legal action if the documents are not released within seven days.
The Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA) also called for a public inquiry to determine how the council secured a budget allocation despite questions over its legal status.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar described the controversy as evidence of a broader governance crisis, urging President Bola Tinubu to order an independent investigation and identify those responsible.
Similarly, the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR), a faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and the Kwankwasiyya Movement demanded comprehensive investigations into the budget process and the alleged institutional failures.
While some groups called for Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila to step aside pending investigations, senior lawyers dismissed demands for his prosecution, insisting that criminal liability must be based on credible evidence rather than allegations.
Meanwhile, Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Mathew is scheduled to appear before the Federal High Court, Abuja, on July 27, 2026, alongside two alleged accomplices identified as Femi and Anu, who remain at large.
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