Adeniyi Adeyemi, the man at the centre of the controversy over the alleged fake Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), has claimed that his life is under threat as the dispute surrounding the agency deepens.
Adeyemi, who has been accused by the Presidency of forging government appointment letters and falsely presenting himself as Director-General of the PFIPC and the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC), made the claim while responding to allegations against him.
The controversy began after the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, declared on June 11 that the PFIPC was not an agency under the administration of President Bola Tinubu. Adeyemi, however, rejected the claim and called on President Tinubu to establish an independent panel to investigate the matter.
He also alleged that the disagreement stemmed from his refusal to surrender 48 per cent of the agency’s take-off grant. Adeyemi further claimed he paid N400 million to secure his appointment and still owed an outstanding N200 million, allegations the Presidency has not directly addressed.
Meanwhile, public records reportedly indicate that about N1.3 billion was appropriated for the council in the 2026 budget, despite the Presidency’s insistence that the agency never existed. Adeyemi was also said to have operated from an office within the Federal Secretariat in Abuja.
Responding to the allegations, presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga described Adeyemi as a “con artist” who had already been investigated by security agencies. He disclosed that Adeyemi and two others are facing an eight-count charge before the Federal High Court in a case filed on November 27, 2025, with the next hearing scheduled for July 27.
Despite dismissing Adeyemi’s claims, the Presidency has come under renewed scrutiny over how an individual it describes as an impostor allegedly secured office space within the Federal Secretariat, purportedly operated government-linked bank accounts, interacted with foreign diplomats and became associated with official government processes.
Critics argue that the official explanation leaves several unanswered questions, particularly over the reported inclusion of the PFIPC in the 2026 Appropriation Act with a budgetary allocation of approximately N1.3 billion.
They contend that the controversy has shifted from questions about one individual’s actions to broader concerns about institutional oversight and accountability within government.
