The Presidency has reiterated that it has no connection with a purported Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), also referred to as the Presidential Economic Advisory Council, describing its alleged Director-General, Mr. Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, as an impostor currently facing prosecution.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President first alerted security agencies in October 2025 after discovering that individuals were forging official appointment letters and presenting themselves as officials of a non-existent government agency.
According to the statement, the Chief of Staff petitioned the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigeria Police Force on October 17, 2025, requesting an investigation into the activities of those behind the alleged forgery.
The Presidency said Adeyemi had been presenting himself as Director-General of the fictitious Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, operating from an office within the Federal Secretariat Complex in Abuja, where he reportedly held meetings with Nigerians and foreign nationals while posing as a government official.
It added that the fake agency also sought diplomatic support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including requests for note verbales to facilitate United States visas for some of its purported officials.
The statement noted that concerns over the agency had earlier been raised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which wrote to the Office of the National Security Adviser and the Office of the Chief of Staff on October 15, 2025, seeking clarification after Adeyemi reportedly held a meeting with ambassadors at the Wells Carlton Hotel in Abuja without the ministry’s involvement.
The Presidency said both the Office of the Chief of Staff and the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF) subsequently confirmed that neither Adeyemi nor the agency was recognised by the Federal Government.
It stressed that the Chief of Staff had no authority to appoint heads of government agencies, noting that such appointments are the exclusive responsibility of the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
According to the statement, police investigations led to Adeyemi’s arrest on October 27, 2025, at the office from which he allegedly operated the scheme.
Searches conducted at his office and residence reportedly uncovered forged appointment letters and other incriminating documents.
The Presidency said police investigations established that the agency was fictitious and that Adeyemi had forged official documents, falsely represented himself as a government appointee and sought diplomatic privileges under false pretences.
Investigators also reportedly discovered that he operated 34 bank accounts, including nine allegedly opened in the names of fictitious organisations, and fraudulently opened an account with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) by misleading the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.
The statement, however, clarified that no government funds were transferred into the account.
Following the investigation, the police filed an eight-count charge against Adeyemi and two alleged accomplices before the Federal High Court in Abuja on November 27, 2025. The case is scheduled to resume on July 27, 2026.
The Presidency further alleged that while on police bail, Adeyemi renewed claims that the Chief of Staff had appointed him Director-General of the non-existent agency, despite earlier denying such during police interrogation.
Onanuga said the Chief of Staff subsequently issued another public disclaimer on June 8, 2026, reaffirming that Adeyemi was not known to the Presidency and had no official relationship with the Federal Government.
The statement also alleged that Adeyemi had a history of fraudulent misrepresentation, recalling that in 2016 he reportedly claimed to be President-General of a so-called World Youth Organisation, which he falsely presented as affiliated with the United Nations before the claim was disowned by the global body.
The Presidency urged politicians and members of the public to refrain from making conclusions based on Adeyemi’s allegations, noting that the matter is before the court and should be allowed to run its legal course.
