Gbenga Collins says government number plates and armed security convinced him the fictitious agency was real, before he lost his savings

A businessman, Gbenga Collins, has told the House of Representatives how he allegedly paid N400 million to Adeniyi Adeyemi, who presented himself as Director-General of the purported Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), after being promised a government contract to renovate and furnish an official residence.

The matter remains under active investigation and is sub judice.

Collins, Managing Director of Divine Dopacy Nigeria Limited, testified before the House Ad-hoc Committee investigating the alleged establishment and activities of the PFIPC, chaired by Yusuf Gagdi (APC, Plateau).

How the businessman says he was convinced PFIPC was real

Collins said he first met Adeyemi in December 2024 at a programme in their shared hometown of Ogbomoso, Oyo State. He said Adeyemi invited him to Abuja in early 2025, where an official-looking Lexus SUV bearing a federal government registration number picked him up from the airport and took him to Adeyemi’s office at the Federal Secretariat.

There, he said he encountered security personnel and what he described as dignitaries, all of which convinced him he was dealing with a legitimate federal official.

“I saw police officers with him. That was my first time coming to Abuja because I’m not familiar with Abuja very well,” he told the committee.

Collins said Adeyemi told him an official residence had been allocated to him as DG and required renovation, offering Divine Dopacy the contract before personally taking him to inspect the property with several vehicles and security personnel in tow.

The N400 million payment and its aftermath

Collins said discussions continued until April 2025, when Adeyemi allegedly presented him with a contract award letter, scope of work and agreement, before requesting N400 million as evidence of financial capacity and to facilitate mobilisation.

“I had to pay N400 million for the facilitation of that project to show my strength that I would be able to handle the project. At the same time, he said it would fast-track the mobilisation for the contract,” he said.

Collins said he raised the money from business associates who trusted his judgement, paying it in five instalments between May and July 2025, N100 million each on 16, 22 and 28 May, N80 million on 20 June, all into a Guaranty Trust Bank account held by World Entrepreneurs Limited, and a final N20 million on 29 July into an Access Bank account belonging to Sunshine Confectionery and Catering Services.

He said the promised mobilisation never materialised, with Adeyemi allegedly blaming security concerns and repeatedly pushing the date back before cutting off contact entirely. Collins said a lawyer eventually told him he had been scammed, and his lawyer petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on 13 November 2025.

“I just want to beg the chairman and the honourable members to help me talk to all the agencies involved because I have been frustrated, especially by those people who gave me the money. I have started selling my property,” he told the committee.

Under questioning, Collins denied the payment constituted a bribe, saying it was presented to him as a facilitation condition, and admitted he had not followed any public procurement process before proceeding.

Reps summon FRSC over vehicle plates

Following the testimony, the committee summoned the Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) to explain how vehicles allegedly used by the purported council obtained federal government registration plates, one of the details Collins cited as convincing him PFIPC was genuine.

Gagdi also addressed why Adeyemi has not appeared before the panel, saying the committee respects a subsisting court order keeping him in police custody and would not attempt to override judicial authority.

He said the committee would still interact with Adeyemi at an undisclosed date and location, in the presence of his lawyers, to avoid interfering with parallel investigations by the EFCC, ICPC and the courts.