Fake agency: House of Representatives panel clears Gbajabiamila

The House of Representatives panel investigating the purported Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council has cleared the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, of involvement in the activities of the organisation.

The House Ad Hoc Committee probing the alleged inclusion of the purported agency in the Federal Government’s budget framework said it found no evidence that Gbajabiamila authorised, established or participated in the council’s activities.

The committee chairman, Yusuf Gagdi, disclosed this on Wednesday while presenting the panel’s preliminary findings at a press briefing televised by TVC.

The panel said its investigation showed that Gbajabiamila instead alerted security and investigative agencies after concerns about the organisation were brought to his attention.

According to the committee, the concerns were initially raised by the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission over suspected fraudulent activities and the alleged misuse of institutional materials.

The panel said Gbajabiamila responded within a day by contacting the Nigeria Police Force, the Office of the National Security Adviser, the Department of State Services and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

It added that he also directed administrative verification through relevant government institutions.

The committee said the Chief of Staff subsequently sent further communications requesting investigations and appropriate action after additional concerns emerged, including those surrounding a proposed world investment summit.

Panel finds no evidence against Gbajabiamila

The committee said the documentary evidence before it did not establish that Gbajabiamila authorised, approved, established or participated in the activities of the purported organisation.

Instead, the lawmakers said the evidence showed that he repeatedly took steps to facilitate investigation, institutional verification and appropriate administrative action whenever the matter was brought to his attention.

The committee consequently commended Gbajabiamila, on a preliminary basis, for the security and administrative measures he took in response to the concerns.

Appointment letter declared forged

The lawmakers also said they established that a letter purportedly appointing Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi as Director-General of the organisation was forged and falsely attributed to the Presidency.

The document, which purportedly carried Gbajabiamila’s authority and signature, was not issued or approved by the Presidency, according to the committee.

State House records, the panel said, showed that Gbajabiamila neither issued nor signed the appointment letter.

It further found that the letterhead was not an authentic State House letterhead and that its reference number did not conform to the official referencing system.

Purported executive order, Act rejected

The committee also rejected documents presented as a Presidential Executive Order and an Act of the National Assembly purportedly establishing the organisation.

According to the panel, the document described as Executive Order No. 5, dated February 24, 2026, was neither issued nor approved through the lawful processes of the Presidency.

It similarly found that the purported Act was never passed by both chambers of the National Assembly, assented to by the President or gazetted as an Act of the Federation.

The lawmakers said part of an instrument belonging to another institution appeared to have been electronically altered, mutilated or substituted to create the impression that the National Assembly had established the organisation.

The committee therefore said its investigation had found no valid law, executive order, administrative instrument or other lawful authority establishing an institution known as the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council.

Panel links 58 accounts to alleged DG

The committee further disclosed that preliminary financial information had linked about 58 bank accounts to identifying details associated with Adeyemi.

The controversy began after the purported council, allegedly headed by Adeyemi, appeared in Nigeria’s 2026 Federal Government budget despite questions over its legal existence.

Adeyemi had presented himself as the council’s Director-General and allegedly claimed that he was appointed by President Bola Tinubu’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila.

Gbajabiamila denied involvement in the purported agency, prompting wider questions about how the organisation obtained a budgetary allocation and operated within government structures.

As investigations into the matter continued, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission uncovered another alleged fake government agency, the National Brands Development and Made-in-Nigeria Special Project Office.

The development has further raised concerns about how purported government bodies could operate or secure budgetary recognition without lawful authority.