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The Director-General of the purported Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, has denied knowledge of his agency’s inclusion in the national budget.
Speaking during a video call with social media critic Martins Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, on Wednesday, Matthew said he was unaware that the agency’s budget was defended during the National Assembly’s consideration of the appropriation bill before it was approved by lawmakers and assented to by the President.
Matthew, who has been accused of establishing the purported council for personal gain, denied the allegation, saying he created it to attract foreign investors and promote President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
“I established that amount (rumoured N400 million) for the agency’s office out of passion for the country. I wanted to bring in foreign investors to Nigeria so that I can write my name in gold. I am just desperate to serve,” he said.
“That’s the reason I paid the money. I just want to do my part for the country. That agency was established to bring in foreign investments to Nigeria and make Nigeria a preferred destination for foreign investors.
“I walk around the inter-ministerial agencies and partner with the MDAs and EFCC to make Nigeria a preferred world destination for investments. So, it’s not about personal interest. Before this whole brouhaha, we were expecting the world to be in Nigeria through our forthcoming global summit.”
Matthew said he found it puzzling that the Presidency denied any knowledge of the council, insisting that he had not prepared or defended its budget.
According to him, he was in police detention for 23 days when the budget was prepared and defended before the National Assembly between October and November.
“The former Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, had invited me to explain how I came about the agency from the Chief of Staff to the President. I gave him the name and number of the person that facilitated the appointment letter for me. I was thereafter detained,” he added.
“How come the budget that nobody defended still found its way into the national budget? By the time I came out on November 19, 2025, I was charged to court and they said the same office space had been reallocated to another government official. So I’ve not been going to the office since that October 27.”
Matthew also said he never met with the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, over the petition against him. He, however, claimed to have spoken with him by phone through his late friend, Dolapo Tanimola.
He further claimed that he possesses documents supporting the agency’s establishment and is willing to submit them to the relevant authorities as part of the ongoing investigation.
“Any moment from now, I will go to the police and DSS to submit every document that I have to support the investigation. My friend (Tanimola), who paid the money for the establishment of the agency, is now dead in a fire accident in a hotel in Utako, Abuja.”
The purported Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council caused controversy after receiving an allocation in the 2026 Appropriation Act despite the Presidency insisting that no such agency exists within the Nigerian Government.
Following public outrage, Gbajabiamila petitioned security agencies, leading to Matthew’s arrest and arraignment on charges bordering on forgery and impersonation, allegations he has consistently denied.
President Bola Tinubu subsequently directed the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission to investigate how the council was included in the 2026 Appropriation Act and ordered the prosecution of anyone found culpable.
