Nigeria orders probe after fake federal agency received budget funding and office space
Nigeria's president has ordered an investigation after a fictitious federal body was found to have received budget funding and office space, triggering a political storm in the run-up to January's general election. The case centres on the presidential foreign intervention promotion council, or PFIPC, which was allocated 1.3 billion naira in the 2026 budget. The development has intensified scrutiny of governance and corruption in Africa's most populous country.
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According to the supplied material, the issue first came to light last October when Femi Gbajabiamila, the president's chief of staff, wrote to police alleging that his signature, official seals and reference numbers had been forged. He said the alleged forgery was carried out by Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, who was claiming to have been appointed by the presidency to lead the PFIPC. The police later filed an eight-count charge against Adeyemi and two others, including criminal forgery, impersonation and obtaining by false pretence.
In a statement dated 1 July, the presidency said Adeyemi had also met ambassadors without the knowledge of the foreign affairs ministry and had misled the accountant-general's office into opening PFIPC accounts with the central bank and 33 commercial banks. The statement defended Gbajabiamila and said people were trying to weaponise Adeyemi's claims against him. It also said the actual Nigerian investment promotion council had raised concerns about the similarity between its name and the PFIPC.
The matter matters now because it touches on public spending, institutional controls and the credibility of state processes ahead of a national election. A fictitious body appearing in the budget and being given office space in the federal secretariat in Abuja has raised questions about how such access was possible. Critics have suggested there may have been collusion at senior levels, although that has not been established in the supplied material.
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The federal secretariat in Abuja is a major government complex that houses the headquarters of Nigeria's civil service and many ministries and agencies. The fact that the PFIPC was reportedly allocated space there has added to concerns about oversight and verification inside the federal system. The case has also drawn attention because it involves allegations of forged signatures, impersonation and the opening of official accounts across multiple financial institutions.
President Bola Tinubu has directed the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission to open a probe. A court hearing in Abuja is scheduled for 27 July, more than six months after the police charges were filed. What remains unclear is how the fictitious entity was able to secure budget funding and office space, and whether the investigation will identify any wider official involvement.
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