Alleged PFIPC chief claims he never met Chief of Staff in person; offers documents to investigators as legal pressure intensifies
Adeniyi Adeyemi, the self-styled Director-General of the fictitious Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, has dramatically softened his allegations against Femi Gbajabiamila, the Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu.
Speaking during an Instagram interview with social media personality VeryDarkMan on Tuesday, Adeyemi claimed he never physically met Gbajabiamila and expressed uncertainty about the Chief of Staff’s involvement in the PFIPC scandal.
The remarks represent a significant retreat from Adeyemi’s 25 June press conference, when he alleged that Gbajabiamila demanded 48 per cent of the council’s purported N27.4 billion take-off grant and personally received N400 million through proxies. That conference prompted Gbajabiamila’s legal team to threaten a N10 billion defamation suit.
“I would not say he is lying, and I won’t say he is saying the truth; that is why I requested from my press conference; I pleaded with Mr. President to set up an investigative panel to look into this whole issue and unravel the truth to know who is involved,” Adeyemi stated during the interview.
The intermediary narrative replaces direct allegations
Rather than accusing Gbajabiamila directly, Adeyemi shifted narrative to suggest that Dolapo Tanimola, a deceased intermediary, facilitated all communication.
“I think three times I have spoken with Gbajabiamila, through my late friend, Dolapo Tanimola. No, it was not on video call,” Adeyemi said.
This account contrasts sharply with his earlier confident assertions made during the press conference. The strategic repositioning emerged precisely 72 hours after Gbajabiamila’s legal counsel, Kemi Pinheiro, served him with a cease-and-desist letter demanding retraction of all allegations.
Document submission and cooperation narrative
Adeyemi responded to President Tinubu’s directive for an ICPC investigation by pledging full cooperation.
“I am willing and ready to help security agencies or the panel by Mr. President to unravel the truth. In fact, any moment from now, I will go to the DSS or police to submit all the documents I have to help them investigate and look into this matter,” he stated.
The promised documents, Adeyemi claimed, contained evidence supporting every allegation made regarding his purported appointment. He expressed readiness to submit himself to investigators at any moment and to undergo authentication of his documents to establish their legitimacy.
Budget allocation paradox remains unresolved
Adeyemi raised a pointed question that continues to trouble the entire scandal: how did the PFIPC appear in Nigeria’s 2026 national budget with an N1.3 billion allocation if the Presidency’s claim that the council never existed is accurate.
“When the Presidency, through the Chief of Staff, said the agency does not exist, I wondered how an agency that found its way into the national budget could suddenly be described as fake,” Adeyemi questioned.
He noted that he was in police detention during the period when the budget was being prepared and defended before the National Assembly. According to his account, he could not have participated in any budget defence process, nor could anyone have acted on his behalf.
Legal and investigative landscape
Adeyemi’s retreat comes as multiple investigations proceed simultaneously. President Tinubu has directed the ICPC to investigate within 30 days. Gbajabiamila’s defamation suit remains threatened but not yet filed. Police have already charged Adeyemi with eight counts bordering on forgery and impersonation, with the Federal High Court scheduled to hear the case on 27 July 2026.
The Presidency designated Gbajabiamila as a prosecution witness in the criminal proceedings, a designation that underscores the government’s position that Adeyemi operated independently without government authorisation.
