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Gbaja-gate: Adeyemi digs in! *CoS, got N400million, demanded N200 million balance
Adeniyi Adeyemi, has practically dug in with his allegation against Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff (CoS) to President Bola Tinubu, who he earlier accused of obtaining N400million from him in exchange for his appointment as the Director General of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC).
Despite the latter stating clearly that the body did not exist and the Federal Government initiating a suit against him in court, Adeyemi maintained that he was neither an impostor nor a criminal as the government side tried to tar him with.
Insisting that he actually cut a deal with the CoS, he told reporters on Thursday, Gbajabiamila’s effort to distance himself therefrom, was nothing outside double-speak and contradictory, while calling an independent investigation to be carried out on the matter especially on the said agency and the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC).
Maintaining that Gbajabiamila, truly received ₦400 million through a proxy and demanded an additional ₦200 million to facilitate his appointment, to be given the job, he added: “The major rationale behind the disagreement between myself and the Chief of Staff is that he allegedly requested 48 per cent of the take-off grant (₦27,395,510,136) from the same agency, which he denies, which I rejected after he collected a total sum of ₦400 million by proxy, with a remaining balance of ₦200 million to secure the said appointment.
“If the PFIPC did not exist, as stated in the Presidency’s June 11 disclaimer, the government should explain why references to the PFIPC and the Presidential Economic Advisory Council allegedly appeared on pages 50 and 51 of the 2026 Appropriation Act.”
Stressing particularly that President Bola Tinubu should establish an independent investigative panel to examine the allegations, he urged the panel to investigate the disputed agencies, review relevant official documents and budgetary references, examine as assassination attempts against him, question public officials connected to the matter, and publish its findings transparently.
The investigation should start with the CoS first stepping aside before and during the period it would last, to ensure noninterference, he said, adding that he was not afraid of the criminal proceedings, but in fact welcomed it as one of the surest ways of getting to the root of the mantter.
Gbajabiamila, had in a statement on June 11 distanced himself from the allegation, adding that the Presidency notified the public, diplomatic missions, financial institutions and multilateral organisations that no such agency exists under the Tinubu administration.
His words: “It has come to the notice of the Federal Government of Nigeria and specifically the Office of the Chief of Staff to His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, that a certain Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, under the auspices of an alleged organisation styled as the ‘Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council’ is portraying himself to the general public as having been appointed by my office.
“The unsuspecting public is hereby advised to note that such an office does not exist under this administration and no appointment has been made in that regard.
“Foreign and Diplomatic Missions, Financial and Multilateral Institutions, Development Organisations, Security Agencies and so on are hereby advised to note the contents of this Notice,” the disclaimer stated.
A search of the Budget Office’s published 2026 Appropriation Bill details under the “Summary by MDAs” lists an entity described as “Presidential Economic Advisory Council/Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council” with code 0111062001 and a total allocation of ₦1.303 billion, comprising ₦802.98 million for personnel, ₦200 million for overhead, and ₦300 million for capital expenditure.
But the Presidency reinforced its position in a statement issued on Wednesday by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, describing both the PFIPC and PEAC as fictitious.
“We are aware of the public interest in the matter of a man called Adeyemi Adeniyi Matthew, who has been parading himself as the director-general of a fictitious Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council cum Presidential Economic Advisory Council,” Onanuga said.
According to the Presidency, concerns about the alleged agency first emerged in October 2025 after the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission complained that another organisation appeared to be operating at cross-purposes with it.
Onanuga said the Chief of Staff subsequently petitioned the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigeria Police Force over what he described as forged appointment letters and the activities of individuals allegedly impersonating government officials.
He said investigations by the Police led to Adeyemi’s arrest in Abuja on October 27, 2025, following searches of his office and residence.
According to the Presidency, investigators concluded that the PFIPC was fictitious, alleged that Adeyemi forged appointment documents, falsely presented himself as a government appointee, and fraudulently sought official diplomatic support for visa applications.
The Presidency further stated that the Police recovered documents during their investigation, alleged that Adeyemi operated multiple bank accounts linked to entities it described as fictitious, and subsequently filed an eight-count charge against him and two others at the Federal High Court in Abuja on November 27, 2025.
The Presidency noted that the matter is pending before the court, with Adeyemi scheduled to appear on July 27, and urged the public to await the judicial process.
“The Police found that Adeyemi, using the fake documents he created, fraudulently opened a CBN account by misleading the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation. According to the police, no government money has been transferred into the account.
“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,” the police wrote in the report of the investigation conducted by the assistant commissioner, Kabir Mogaji.
“Based on their investigations, the police filed an eight-count charge at the Federal High Court in Abuja against Adeyemi and two of his accomplices on November 27, 2025. He is due in court on July 27,” he stated.
“Adeyemi was on police bail when he recently claimed that the Chief of Staff had appointed him as DG of the fictitious agency. This claim contradicted his statement to the police in November last year. His new claim prompted the Chief of Staff, on June 8, to issue a disclaimer consistent with earlier advisories that the man, called Adeyemi, is an imposter.
“The case of Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew is a clear case of a con artist who appears to have built a web of false claims to deceive unsuspecting government officials and the public into playing by his scam book. He has a history of fraudulent misrepresentation. In November 2016, he paraded himself as an ambassador and President-General of the World Youth Organisation (WYO), an affiliate of the United Nations (UN). He claimed to have been elected in New Delhi, India. The local media celebrated him until the UN denied the existence of such a body,” Onanuga added.
The Presidency, therefore, urged politicians and the public not to accept Adeyemi’s allegations uncritically, advising them to await the outcome of his trial and the court’s judgment since the matter is before the court.
The echoes of the drums rolled out to celebrate the rescue of the 44 teachers and students, kidnapped from some schools in Oyo State, after 56 days in the bush, would surely be disrupted abruptly, with the divergent echoes of a fresh abduction, this time coming from Kogi State.
Reports indicate that the gunmen, struck on Tuesday at the Government Secondary School, Odo-Ekina, in Dekina Local Government Area of the state, abducting four students, the school principal and a National Examinations Council (NECO) ad hoc staff member.
Authorities of the Kogi State Police Command, who immediately unleashed their operatives in hot pursuit of the abductors, said the attack occurred at about 5:25 p.m. while the students were writing their NECO examination.
Saliu Oyiza Afusat, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) and spokesman of the command, said a combined team of police personnel and other security agencies has launched a search-and-rescue operation following the incident.
Informing that one of the students was actually rescued immediately, she said efforts were ongoing to secure the release of the remaining victims and apprehend the attackers, adding that Naziru Bello Kankarofi, the state Commissioner of Police, alongside the Brigade Commander and the State Security Adviser to the Governor, Commodore Jerry Omodara (Rtd), were already on the way to the scene for an on-the-spot assessment.
Oil prices are expected to go down now with the announcement of Donald Trump, US President that he will no longer impose a 20 percent “safe passage” fee on ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
The POTUS, hinged his reversal of the decision on the intervention from some Gulf countries, who pleaded with him not to toe the line due to the massive economic impact the decision would make on the region.
Indeed, oil prices had shot up immediately Trump announced the new levy on Monday while declaring the US ‘the guardians of the Hormuz strait,’ a measure which he said was to pay for the cost of guarding the volatile area in order keep supply of oil flowing.
Reports said that Gulf allies of the US worked frantically to get Trump on the phone in time to talk him out of the idea altogether, while a flurry of appeals came from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar.
In response, the POTUS, posting on his Truth Social platform, wrote: “Based on highly productive conversations with Middle East leadership, I have decided to replace the 20% United States Reimbursement Fee with Trade and Investment Deals that the various Gulf States will be making into the United States.”
Trump, who said the investments would be “MASSIVE but, at the same time, extraordinarily good for them, and their future,” added that the deals would see factories, plants, and equipment pour into the US at “Historic levels.”
The Gulf nations have committed to invest trillions of dollars in the US, though it remains unclear how much of that they will actually spend over the next several years.
Meanwhile, the US continues to bomb Iran in what appears to be a resumption of active conflict between both countries, despite an ongoing roadmap to end the conflict.
Reports say operatives of the Osun State Police Command, and those of the Department of State Services (DSS) had tracking the trail of Adeniyi Adeyemi, controversial Director General of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), for weeks, before he was eventually pulled out of his hole on Tuesday.
However, the duo, were said to have pulled back after failing to track him through his mobile phones, which he had reportedly switched off for about two days, making it difficult to locate him, leaving the stage for the members of the Police Intelligence Response Team (PI-RT) led by Moses Lohor, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP).
Lohor, said to have previously served as the Commander of the Anti-Kidnapping Squad of Osun State, and reported to have been involved in high-profile security operations and controversies, after taken over fielded his men to pick up signals from their well-oiled signal networks.
Regarded by many Osun residents as one of the key security officers who contributed significantly to the peace and stability enjoyed in Ilesa and other parts of the state during his tenure, he was said to have relied on his contacts before his transfer out of the state, said to have raised concerns from the public about the security situation he would be leaving behind.
His exit from the state was said to be hinged on an incident in 2024, in which he allegedly shot one Iyanda Alowonle, then Chairman of Osun State Motor Transport System, in the stomach at the police station in the state prompting an order for his arrest by then Inspector General of Police (IGP).
His effort was said to have paid off when he successfully tracked down the controversial PFIPC, boss, who was seen on Tuesday evening, in a shot video on social media undergoing interrogation, and eventually handed him over to Ibrahim Gotan, Commissioner of Police in the state.
The PUNCH quoted one of the sources as saying: “The arrest (of Adeyemi) took place on Tuesday morning by the IRT squad, who immediately moved him to Abuja. After he was arrested, he was taken to Ibadan and from there to Abuja.”
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