Fake agency scandal: Tinubu orders 30-day ICPC probe, Senate rejects blame

President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday directed the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission to conduct a thorough investigation into the activities of the fictitious Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council and all related matters, demanding a comprehensive report within 30 days.

Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, revealed the fresh directive in a statement he signed Tuesday  titled ‘President Tinubu orders ICPC to investigate Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council.’

Onanuga said “the directive follows the discovery of the fictitious council, which the Presidency said was never established by the Federal Government and has no basis in the law, presidential instrument, executive approval or other lawful act of government.”

President Tinubu directed the ICPC to investigate the forged appointment letters and official government documents allegedly used by one Adeniyi Adeyemi Mathew, who presented himself as Director-General of the so-called council and falsely claimed to be a presidential appointee, it stated.

The investigation is also to cover his use of a false claim of presidential appointment to seek or obtain official recognition and diplomatic support, including visa facilitation, as well as the opening of multiple bank accounts in the names of purported government agencies using allegedly forged documents.

Tinubu also ordered the ICPC to examine “the wider circumstances that may have enabled a fictitious body and a false claim of presidential appointment to acquire an appearance of official legitimacy,” the statement read.

It added, “The investigation is to examine the provenance and use of false official documents; the processes through which official recognition or diplomatic support may have been sought or obtained; the opening and operation of any related bank accounts; the source and movement of any funds involved; and the role of any public officer, private individual, financial institution, intermediary or other person or entity that may have facilitated, enabled or participated in the alleged scheme.”

The President further directed the ICPC to identify weaknesses in government and institutional procedures that were exploited and to recommend immediate measures to prevent a recurrence.

All ministries, departments and agencies of the Federal Government were directed to provide the ICPC with all relevant information, records and assistance required for the expeditious completion of the investigation.

“The integrity of the Presidency and the institutions of the Federal Government must be protected against impersonation, forgery, abuse of official identity and the exploitation of weaknesses in the public service.

“All persons found culpable are to be treated strictly in accordance with applicable law,” the President stated.

The directive comes after weeks of mounting public pressure from civil society organisations, opposition politicians and senior lawyers who demanded an independent inquiry into how the fictitious council operated from the Federal Secretariat Complex, opened accounts with the Central Bank of Nigeria, appeared in the 2026 Appropriation Act with an allocation of N1.3bn and engaged diplomatic missions, all without any enabling law or presidential instrument.

Human rights lawyer Femi Falana, who is representing Adeyemi, had questioned how the body found its way into the national budget even if the appointment letter was forged, and called for the ICPC to investigate both Adeyemi and Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila.

The Presidency had denied any connection between Gbajabiamila and the scheme, telling our correspondent on Sunday that forensic analysis by the police had confirmed the signature on the appointment letter was forged.

Speaking to The PUNCH, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said the police had conducted forensic analysis of Gbajabiamila’s signature on the disputed appointment letter and found it to be fake.

“The police has investigated this man. They have done forensic analysis of the Chief of Staff’s signature. The case has been filed at the Federal Court already. And I am telling you that before the police filed the case, they had already done their own forensic analysis and found that the signature was forged. They found out that all the documents he was parading were fake,” Onanuga said.

Adeyemi’s father released

Meanwhile the Nigeria Police Force has released the father of Adeyemi after hours of questioning over his son’s whereabouts.

A neighbour of the family, who spoke on condition of anonymity on Tuesday following the release, told one of our correspondents that the police questioned him extensively before allowing him to return home.

“Baba has been released. He was questioned about his son’s whereabouts and the police also took a list of the contacts on his phone. We don’t know what they want to use it for,” the neighbour said.

The development comes a day after police personnel stormed the family’s residence and arrested the elderly man, an action that drew criticism from human rights lawyer Femi Falana, SAN.

On Monday, residents had told The PUNCH that several police vehicles arrived at the Adeyemi’s family residence, with officers taking the suspect’s father into custody after failing to locate his son.

Another resident had alleged that neighbours were prevented from intervening while security operatives remained stationed around the area after the arrest.

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Falana, who is representing the suspect, had condemned the arrest, describing it as unlawful and insisted that security agencies should not subject family members of suspects to intimidation or harassment.

The senior advocate maintained that his client had not absconded and had repeatedly demonstrated his willingness to submit himself to the judicial process.

According to Falana, the suspect has appeared in court on four previous occasions in connection with the matter and has vowed to be present again when the case comes up on July 27.

The senior lawyer argued that resorting to the arrest of the suspect’s father was unnecessary, noting that his client remained committed to defending himself before the court.

Falana insisted that the allegations should be resolved in court and not through what he described as the intimidation of relatives. He said his client would honour the next hearing scheduled for July 27.

In October 2025, the police began investigating allegations bordering on forgery, impersonation and the use of official documents purportedly linked to the council.

During the investigation, witnesses have alleged that official letterheads bearing the council’s insignia were designed and used to communicate with government agencies, while invitations were allegedly received from the House of Representatives in connection with the activities of the council.

The police have since filed charges against the suspect, Adeyemi.

Lawmakers can’t intervene

The Senate on Tuesday said it could not intervene in the controversy surrounding the PFIPC, insisting that no petition had been submitted to the National Assembly over the matter and that the dispute is in court.

This followed growing public scrutiny over the controversial N1.3bn allocation to the agency in the 2026 Appropriation Act.

Speaking with journalists after plenary, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Publicity, Senator Yemi Adaramodu, acknowledged that the PFIPC has a budgetary allocation in the 2026 Appropriation Act.

He, however, maintained that the Senate had no basis to investigate the controversy since no petition had been formally submitted to the Red Chamber by any of the parties involved or concerned Nigerians.

Adaramodu said the matter had become sub judice, making it inappropriate for the Senate to comment or intervene.

He argued “The allegations and counter-allegations over a fake agency and its director general are all within the executive, which should be sorted out by it, specifically between the office of the Chief of Staff and the alleged fake DG.

“The budget line, being referred to, was not created or inserted by the National Assembly, and it is not the duty of the Senate or the House of Representatives to carry out security checks on those supposedly appointed to head the various MDAs.

“If the alleged fake DG were to be one of the Presidential appointees screened and confirmed by the Senate, the controversy might have been perceived to be somewhat linked to us. However, if a petition is sent to the Senate by any of the feuding parties or any concerned Nigerian on the existence or non-existence of agency or DG, it will be legislatively looked into.”

The Senate’s position comes days after lawmakers dismissed claims linking Senate President Godswill Akpabio to the controversial budget allocation, insisting that the legislature neither created the agency nor originated its budget.

The controversy took another dimension after the discovery of a N1.3bn allocation to Adeyemi’s Council in the 2026 Appropriation Act despite repeated claims by the Presidency that the Council does not exist.

The PUNCH had earlier reported that the allocation was approved without Adeyemi or any official of the council appearing before the Senate Committee on Establishment and Public Service to defend the budget.

Tuesday’s comments by the Senate comes days after this paper reported that multiple oversight in the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Budget Office and the Legislature paved the way for Adeyemi’s allegedly forged appointment letter.

The PUNCH also reported that the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation received and processed official correspondence from the PFIPC months before the Presidency publicly denied the agency’s existence.

Adeyemi, who claims to be the council’s Director-General, is currently standing trial before the Federal High Court in Abuja on an eight-count charge bordering on conspiracy, forgery and impersonation, while the Federal Government has listed the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, and 10 others as prosecution witnesses in the case.