The controversy surrounding the alleged Director-General of the non-existent Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) and Presidential Economic Advisory Council took a fresh turn on Thursday after Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew insisted that his appointment was legitimate, despite the Presidency maintaining that he is an impostor facing criminal prosecution for alleged forgery and impersonation.
Adeyemi, who is standing trial on charges bordering on conspiracy, forgery, impersonation and obtaining by false pretence, defended himself during a telephone interview on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme, saying the court would ultimately determine the truth of the matter.
Asked whether he was evading the law, Adeyemi replied, “Not at all.”
On his readiness to face trial, he said: “Definitely, if I am wrong, let the court of law do that; if I am right, let the court of law do the right thing. Do you know what? Since the matter is in the court, let the court of competent jurisdiction vindicate me because I am ready to clear my name. Let the court take its course. Since my lawyers are involved, everybody will follow us, they will monitor the whole thing. Let the court of competent jurisdiction do the needful.”
Adeyemi maintained that he possessed a valid appointment letter but declined to provide further details because the matter is before the court.
“I have a letter of appointment. However, since the matter is in the court, I won’t be able to say much about it. I am on medication. I am a bit down, I am sick,” he said.
Responding to a question on whether he regarded himself as a criminal, Adeyemi answered: “No, I am not a criminal. However, the court will do justice to that.”
He also questioned the Presidency’s insistence that the agency he headed never existed, arguing that it would have been impossible for him to openly interact with top government officials for several years if the organisation were fictitious.
“I want Nigerians to know that, for one second, let us assume the agency does not exist, would I have the temerity, the audacity, to be going all over the country, meeting the heads of ministries, departments and agencies, if I know that the agency does not exist, or as they allege that I cooked up everything? No Nigerian can dare do that. I could not have summoned the courage to be going from one place to another for almost three years. Nigeria is not a banana republic,” he said.
Adeyemi’s comments came barely a day after the Presidency issued a detailed statement dismissing his claims and describing him as an impostor who allegedly forged appointment documents and operated a fake government agency.
In a statement titled “Re: The Matter of Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew and the Fictitious Presidential Economic Advisory Council,” the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President first uncovered the alleged fraud following complaints from officials of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission that another agency appeared to be carrying out overlapping responsibilities.
According to the Presidency, the Chief of Staff wrote to the Department of State Services and the Nigeria Police Force on October 17, 2025, requesting an investigation into what he described as “fraudsters and imposters” forging appointment letters purportedly issued from his office.
In the petition, the Chief of Staff stated: “The attention of this office has been drawn to the activities of certain individuals and groups engaged in the forgery of official appointment letters purportedly issued from my office.”
He further alleged that the fake documents, which bore falsified signatures, reference numbers and official seals, had been used to claim appointments into non-existent government entities.
“The aforementioned entity under the leadership of one Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew as Director-General is said to have an office at the Federal Secretariat Complex Phase III, 2nd Floor. Also, they have been parading themselves as a legitimate government agency, hosting meetings with both foreigners and Nigerian citizens, and even going so far as to request a note verbale from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the United States of America to facilitate visas for some of their staff,” the petition stated.
The Chief of Staff described the alleged activities as “a serious criminal act” that undermined “the integrity of the Presidency and the credibility of official government communication,” urging security agencies to identify and apprehend those responsible.
The Presidency disclosed that concerns over the alleged fake agency had also been raised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs after Adeyemi reportedly convened a meeting with ambassadors at the Wells Carlton Hotel in Abuja without the ministry’s involvement.
In a letter dated October 15, 2025, the ministry reportedly informed the Office of the National Security Adviser and the Chief of Staff that the meeting “contravenes extant rules and regulations guiding diplomatic practices globally.”
According to the statement, the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation later sought clarification from the Chief of Staff following multiple enquiries from government and non-governmental organisations regarding Adeyemi’s status.
The Chief of Staff subsequently denied issuing any appointment letter to Adeyemi, stressing that the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation—not the Chief of Staff—is constitutionally responsible for federal appointments.
On November 5, 2025, the Chief of Staff again rejected Adeyemi’s claims, stating: “Prince Adeniyi Matthew, director-general of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council, is unknown to any office, nor do we have any dealings with the said council.”
He added: “My attention was drawn to a letter of this purported application, which is fake, and my office has instructed the police and other relevant security agencies to carry out investigations on the person and the entity he claims to represent.”
The Presidency said police investigators arrested Adeyemi on October 27, 2025, at an office within the Federal Secretariat in Abuja, where he allegedly operated the organisation. Searches conducted at both his office and residence in Suleja reportedly led to the recovery of documents and other exhibits.
According to the police investigation cited by the Presidency, Adeyemi claimed during interrogation that one Dolapo Babatunde Tanimola helped procure the alleged appointment letter. However, investigators reportedly established that Tanimola had died in a fire incident at Kachi Hotel, Abuja, on October 22, 2025, five days before Adeyemi’s arrest.
The Presidency further stated that investigators concluded the agency was fictitious, the appointment letter had been forged and that Adeyemi falsely presented himself as a presidential appointee while allegedly seeking diplomatic support for visas through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Police also alleged that Adeyemi operated 34 bank accounts, including nine linked to entities identified as fictitious, and fraudulently opened a Central Bank of Nigeria account using forged documents. Investigators, however, said no government funds were transferred into the account.
Summarising the findings, the police stated: “The act of the suspect constitutes criminal forgery, impersonation and obtaining by false pretence, thereby bringing the office of the Chief of Staff to the President and the Presidency to disrepute before the public and international community.”
Following the investigation, police filed an eight-count charge against Adeyemi and two alleged accomplices at the Federal High Court in Abuja on November 27, 2025. The case is scheduled to come up again on July 27.
The Presidency also urged politicians and members of the public to refrain from drawing conclusions while the matter remains before the court, describing the case as sub judice and advising all parties to allow the judicial process to run its course.
