By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Nigeria’s presidency has offered a detailed account of how one Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew allegedly formed and ran a fictitious federal government agency, occupied office space at a government building, the Federal Secretariat in the nation’s capital Abuja, convened meetings with foreign ambassadors and allegedly forged presidential appointment documents to sustain what it described as an elaborate scam.
This has been a subject of public debate where the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila was alleged to have facilitated the “fake” appointment of Matthew, as the Director-General of a so-called Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, also referred to as the Presidential Economic Advisory Council.
The Presidency on a release signed the the President’s Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga cleared Gbajabiamila, an influential figure in the Bola Tinubu administration, a veteran parliamentarian who was Speaker of the 8th House of Representatives.
The Presidency said no such agency exists within the Nigerian Government and that the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President never issued any appointment letter to Matthew.
The alleged fraud first came to light after officials of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Council, NIPC, alerted the Presidency that another organisation was operating as though it were a federal agency with overlapping responsibilities, the statement says.
Investigations, according to the statement, revealed that Matthew had allegedly established an office on the second floor of the Federal Secretariat Complex Phase III in Abuja, from where he presented himself as Director-General of the fictitious council.
The Presidency alleged that he and his associates held meetings with foreign diplomats and Nigerian stakeholders while claiming to represent the Federal Government.
One of such meetings, it said, was held on October 10, 2025, at the Wells Carlton Hotel and Apartments in Asokoro, Abuja, where Adeyemi reportedly summoned ambassadors without the knowledge or approval of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The ministry was said to have raised the alarm in a letter dated October 15, 2025, describing the meeting as a violation of established diplomatic procedures and requesting clarification from both the Office of the National Security Adviser and the Office of the Chief of Staff.
The Presidency said the Chief of Staff had already petitioned the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigeria Police Force on October 17, 2025, after discovering that forged appointment letters bearing fake signatures, official seals and reference numbers were being used to legitimise the fake agency.
According to the statement, the petition also informed security agencies that Matthew had requested the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to issue a diplomatic note verbale to facilitate United States visas for himself and members of his purported staff.
The Presidency said copies of the forged appointment letter, the visa request documents and photographs obtained from the fake agency’s website were attached to the petition submitted to security agencies.
It further disclosed that after receiving enquiries from various government institutions regarding Adeyemi’s status, the Chief of Staff repeatedly informed both the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation that neither Adeyemi nor the purported council was recognised by the Presidency.
The statement stressed that the Office of the Chief of Staff neither creates government agencies nor issues appointment letters, noting that such responsibilities fall within the constitutional mandate of the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
Following the petition, police investigators arrested Adeyemi on October 27, 2025, at the Federal Secretariat office where he allegedly operated the fake agency.
Searches conducted at both the office and his residence in Suleja in the neighbouring Niger state reportedly yielded forged documents and other exhibits.
According to the Presidency, Matthew admitted during interrogation that one Dolapo Babatunde Tanimola assisted him in procuring the forged appointment letter.
However, police investigations later established that Tanimola had died in a hotel fire in Abuja five days before Adeyemi’s arrest.
The statement said investigators concluded that the agency was entirely fictitious and that Matthew allegedly forged official documents, falsely presented himself as a presidential appointee and sought diplomatic privileges reserved for legitimate government officials.
The Presidency further claimed that investigators discovered 34 bank accounts linked to Adeyemi, including nine allegedly opened in the names of fictitious government agencies.
It also alleged that he fraudulently secured a Central Bank of Nigeria account by misleading the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, although investigators confirmed that no public funds were paid into the account.
Based on the outcome of the investigation, the police filed an eight-count charge against Adeyemi and two alleged accomplices before the Federal High Court in Abuja on November 27, 2025.
The matter is scheduled to come up on July 27, 2026.
Meanwhile, a Minister of Youth and Sports, Solomon Dalung, has criticised the Presidency’s defence of the Chief of Gbajabiamila, over the alleged activities of Matthew, saying the official response leaves several critical questions unanswered.
According to Dalung, while the Presidency attempted to exonerate the Chief of Staff, its explanation highlighted what he described as significant gaps in government oversight.
He argued that regardless of the outcome of the ongoing court proceedings involving Adeyemi, the Presidency still owes Nigerians an explanation of how a purportedly fictitious presidential agency allegedly operated within government circles without being detected.
Dalung questioned how an individual could allegedly establish a fake government agency, forge an appointment letter, operate from the Federal Secretariat, recruit personnel, engage with government institutions, meet diplomats and reportedly obtain a Central Bank of Nigeria account without attracting official scrutiny.
He also expressed concern over reports that the alleged agency appeared in the national budget, noting that budget proposals undergo several stages of executive and legislative review before approval.
“If the council was fake, explain how it entered the budget,” Dalung said.
