More Nigerians have expressed deep outrage over the unfolding scandal involving the controversial Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, which the Presidency claimed was non-existent despite being allocated N24bn in the 2026 national budget. Prominent individuals and groups, including human rights lawyer Femi Falana, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, and the Nigeria Democratic Congress, have demanded an immediate investigation into the matter. The stakeholders also called on the Chief of Staff to the President, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila, to step aside pending the outcome of the investigation. The controversy began on June 11, 2026, when the Office of the Chief of Staff disowned Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi for allegedly parading himself as the Director General of the council and the Presidential Economic Advisory Council. While Gbajabiamila stated that he petitioned security agencies in October 2025 leading to forgery and impersonation charges against Adeyemi, the accused has denied the allegations, claiming he is ready to clear his name and asserting that the Chief of Staff issued his appointment letter.
Reacting to the development, human rights lawyer Femi Falana, SAN, stated that the explanation offered by the Presidency has exposed the nation to unprecedented ridicule. Speaking on a radio programme, Falana raised critical questions regarding the institutional approvals obtained by the disowned council. Falana queried, “How did an agency that is not created by law find its way into the Appropriation Act of Nigeria? How did that body get an office in the Federal Secretariat? How did that body successfully open accounts in the Central Bank of Nigeria? How did the Head of Service post about 300 staff to that office? The government will have to explain to Nigerians how a sum of N24 billion was budgeted for an unknown agency, as well as how that agency had accounts with the Central Bank of Nigeria,”. He further contended that the issue extended beyond the individual currently on trial, adding, “If this is a conman that can con the Presidency into issuing a letter of appointment, con the Central Bank into opening accounts, con the National Assembly into inserting the agency into the budget, I think the government is kidding.”. The senior advocate maintained that the National Assembly must clarify how the body entered the budget, noting, “You cannot have an agency that is not created by law in the budget of a country”. He concluded by urging the government to act transparently, stating, “The government has a duty to ask Mr. Gbajabiamila to step aside to allow for a full investigation in the interest of the country and even in his own interest,”.
On his part, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, Atiku Abubakar, issued a seven-day ultimatum to President Bola Tinubu to order a transparent and independent probe into the council. Speaking through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku warned that a failure to investigate would suggest complicity among powerful government interests. In his remarks, Atiku said, “The court could not have been clearer. It rightly held that the matter borders on the internal affairs of the ADC, that the Federal High Court lacks jurisdiction, and that the plaintiffs neither exhausted the internal remedies provided by the party’s constitution nor established the locus standi required to invoke the jurisdiction of the court. We commend Justice Liman for refusing to allow the judiciary to be converted into an extension of partisan political warfare,”. He further noted that the operational scope of the council contradicts the claims of the Presidency, stating, “If the government wants Nigerians to believe that one man single-handedly created an office for himself, secured office space within a government facility, held meetings with foreign embassy delegations, paid courtesy visits to the EFCC, processed staff salaries through official channels, allegedly operated institutional accounts, and carried on all these activities without the knowledge, approval, negligence or collaboration of anyone within government, then that narrative raises even more troubling questions than it answers”.. Atiku emphasized the need for total disclosure, adding, “Nigeria deserves the truth. Quietly investigating the matter and addressing the lapses would have been better than publicly presenting a story that collapses under its own contradictions. The President must order a comprehensive, independent investigation immediately. Anything short of that will amount to complicity by silence,”.
Similarly, the African Democratic Congress demanded the immediate establishment of an independent Judicial Panel of Inquiry to investigate ten specific federal officials and institutions connected to the affair. In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the opposition party noted that the explanation from the executive failed to address the core security and institutional lapses. The party insisted that investigators must look into the roles of Gbajabiamila regarding bribery claims, Adeyemi's operations, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, and the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Didi Esther Walson-Jack. It also called for the investigation of the Director General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Tanimu Yakubu, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Security Adviser, the Department of State Services, the Nigeria Police Force, the Accountant-General of the Federation, the Central Bank of Nigeria, and the relevant oversight committees of the National Assembly. Warning against attempts to conceal the facts, the party stated, “This matter must not be swept under the Presidential red carpet,”.
The Nigeria Democratic Congress also expressed deep worry over the transparency and integrity of the administration, questioning how a disowned entity successfully opened high-level accounts at the apex bank. The party's National Publicity Secretary, Osa Director, stated, “This development is baffling, given that the Presidency has publicly disclaimed the existence of any such agency. Did the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation knowingly process forged documents? The Presidency owes Nigerians an urgent clarification on this matter.”. The opposition group further raised concerns over the deployment of 314 staff positions and the alleged financial demands surrounding the take-off grant, stating, “Equally disturbing is the claim that the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation approved 314 staff positions for this supposedly non-existent agency. The NDC wonders how such a significant administrative action could occur without the knowledge of the Presidency and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation. Is the Tinubu administration so clueless and incompetent that major decisions bypass its principal officers? More grievous is the allegation that the Chief of Staff demanded 48% of the agency’s take-off grant amounting to N27,395,510,136, a request Prince Adeyemi reportedly rejected which invariably resulted in a public spat. Adeyemi further admitted that he fraudulently secured his appointment through the Chief of Staff for the sum of N 600 million, with N400 million allegedly paid through proxies to the Chief of staff, with a balance of N200 million outstanding, a default that reportedly contributed in triggering the current denial of the agency’s existence by aides of the President.”. Demanding the removal of the Chief of Staff and the probe of a mysterious death and assassination attempts, the NDC added, “The NDC will not accept the usual tactic of issuing a mere defensive press release from the Presidency as a deflective ploy. Nigerians deserve to know the truth through a transparency process that promotes fairness and justice. The culture of impunity and the brazen sale of public appointments must end. The NDC stands firmly with the people of Nigeria in demanding accountability. Anyone found culpable in this sordid affair, no matter how highly placed, must be prosecuted to the full extent of the law”..
Meanwhile, testimonies from senior civil servants deployed to the council by the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation have provided insights into its operations before it was shut down. Official records indicate that Adeyemi requested personnel in April 2025 using the council's letterhead, which led to the posting of three officials, namely Ojo Victor, Omeh Amarachukwu, and Wakili Saidu, in August 2025. In their statements to the police, the workers explained that they resumed duties in September 2025 but were left idle in an open office without any assigned tasks or schedules. Highlighting the strange nature of the arrangement, Victor stated, “We are three officers posted at the same time, and when we resumed on 8 September, the three of us were given an open office where the three of us were sitting down without doing anything,”. He further noted, “I have not been documented, and no schedule has been given to me since my assumption, which I find very strange.”. He added that he only came to the office once or twice a week “just to show our face in the office because there was no assignment or schedule for any of us to do.”. His colleague, Saidu, stated, “Since then, there has been no correspondence between me and the DG,”. Saidu also remarked, “I have never heard of that agency until I saw my name posted to the agency,”. Victor echoed this sentiment, stating, “I have not heard about the organisation before until my posting introduction came out on 28 August 2025,”. Amarachukwu similarly noted, “I only go to work once a week, the reason being that we have done nothing since we were posted there,”.
Adding to the pressure, a former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progress Sub-Committee, Comrade Timi Frank, called for a thorough forensic probe into the mysterious death of Dolapo Babatunde Tanimola, who allegedly served as the principal intermediary in the appointment scandal. While the Presidency claimed that the police confirmed Tanimola died in an Abuja hotel five days prior to Adeyemi's arrest, Frank insisted that the full circumstances must be uncovered to ensure justice. He noted that despite claims that the council did not legally exist, the purported Director General operated with official vehicles, an official residence, and six police escorts.
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