PFIPC Scandal: Adeniyi Claims N1.3bn Allocation For Fake Agency Was Added To Budget After His Arrest, Clears Gbajabiamila

The controversy surrounding the alleged Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) has taken a fresh turn after its self-acclaimed Director-General, Prince Adeyemi Matthew Adeniyi, claimed the proposed agency was included in the Federal Government's budget long after he had abandoned efforts to secure its approval.

Speaking in a recorded interview with social media influencer Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, shortly after his arrest, Adeniyi alleged that he personally lobbied officials at the Budget Office for the agency's inclusion but insisted he had no role in whatever happened after his legal troubles began.

He also sought to distance the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, from the controversial N1.3 billion budget allocation linked to the agency, maintaining that the Chief of Staff neither directed nor participated in the budget process.

According to Adeniyi, he first approached the Budget Office in December 2024 in an attempt to have the proposed agency included in the 2025 Appropriation Bill. However, he said officials informed him that the budget process had already been concluded.

"I went to that Budget Office for the 2025 budget. I submitted the letter and everything that I wanted, but I was told it was already late.

"When the 2025 budget came out and I didn't see it, they told me it would now be for the 2026 budget. We kept in touch because they said it would be considered later," he said.

Adeniyi claimed a female official later facilitated his access to the Director-General of the Budget Office before he was referred to another senior official.

According to him, the Budget Office leadership maintained that the proposal could no longer be accommodated in the 2025 budget but assured him it would be considered during preparations for the 2026 appropriation.

He alleged that one senior official demanded what he described as "shini" during the meeting, but said he did not offer any money.

"He asked me, 'Where is my shini?' I said I don't have any shini. He later asked me to meet one director," Adeniyi claimed.

The embattled promoter insisted that although he maintained contact with officials handling the proposal, the entire process came to an abrupt end after his arrest.

He said his legal challenges prevented him from pursuing the proposal further and expressed surprise when he later learnt that the agency had eventually been captured in the Federal Government's budget.

"Immediately there was a problem, everything stopped. Even the woman that wanted to help was calling because she couldn't reach me. I told her to let everything stop.

"I didn't even know until they said it was inside the budget. I had already left the office. Where would I still pursue the budget when I was already facing the court?" he said.

When asked whether he paid officials in the Budget Office to facilitate the process, Adeniyi denied making any financial inducement.

He admitted, however, that he promised to assist some of them with employment opportunities if the proposed agency eventually became operational.

"Honestly, I did not pay any money. I didn't pay anybody. The only thing I promised was that if I started employing people, I could help them with employment opportunities," he said.

According to him, no cash exchanged hands throughout his interactions with Budget Office officials.

The interview also revisited allegations that Adeniyi paid $400 million to facilitate his appointment. Responding, he claimed the money, allegedly in United States dollars was handed to his late associate, Dolapo Tanimola, who he said handled the transaction.

However, Adeniyi maintained that he never met Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila at any point before or after his purported appointment.

"I never met Gbajabiamila physically before and after he was appointed. Dolapo Tanimola handled everything for me," he said.

He further agreed with the interviewer's suggestion that he personally handled discussions with Budget Office officials, insisting the Chief of Staff was unaware of his activities.

The latest claims add another layer to the unfolding PFIPC controversy, which has sparked public scrutiny over the appearance of the controversial agency in the federal budget and raised fresh questions about the integrity of Nigeria's budget preparation process. As of the time of filing this report, the allegations made by Adeniyi have not been independently verified, and the Budget Office and other officials mentioned in the interview have not publicly responded to the claims.