A fabricated federal agency, the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), was allocated 1.3 billion naira in Nigeria's 2026 budget, triggering a political uproar months before the January general election. The revelation emerged after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's chief of staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, reported to police that his signature and official documents were forged by Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, who claimed to have been appointed by the presidency to lead the PFIPC. In a statement dated 1 July, the presidency confirmed that Adeyemi had met with ambassadors and deceived the country's accountant-general into opening accounts for the non-existent agency at the central bank and 33 commercial banks. The actual Nigerian Investment Promotion Council raised concerns about the fraudulent body's name similarity. The PFIPC was also assigned office space in the federal secretariat in Abuja, a major government complex, raising questions about how access was granted. Police filed an eight-count charge against Adeyemi and two others in October, including criminal forgery and impersonation, with the case scheduled for hearing on 27 July in Abuja. President Tinubu has directed the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) to investigate. The Senate motion to probe the matter failed to pass, while the House of Representatives formed a committee to question Minister of Budget and Economic Planning Abubakar Atiku Bagudu. The presidency dismissed claims linking Gbajabiamila to Adeyemi, stating the chief of staff had no contact with him. Adeyemi had previously claimed in 2017 to be president-general of a UN-affiliated World Youth Organisation, a title later debunked when it was revealed the body had no UN ties. Punch newspaper quoted one of his aides saying he sought UN Security Council approval to appoint 967 global staff. Critics have highlighted past controversies involving key officials: Gbajabiamila was suspended from legal practice in Georgia in 2007 for failing to remit a $25,000 client settlement, and Bagudu served six months in a US prison in 2003 for involvement in Sani Abacha's financial crimes. Former vice-president Atiku Abubakar, who will challenge Tinubu in the 2027 election, has called for an independent inquiry involving civil society, opposition parties and the Nigerian Bar Association.
A phantom agency with a 1.3 billion naira allocation exposed vulnerabilities in Nigeria's budgetary oversight just months before an election. The fact that office space and bank accounts were secured under false pretences suggests gaps in verification by multiple agencies. Former vice-president Atiku Abubakar's call for an independent inquiry gains weight given the involvement of top officials with contested pasts. The scandal underscores how easily state structures can be mimicked when accountability systems fail.
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