The Director-General of the alleged Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), Mathew Adeniyi Adeyemi, has denied ever meeting Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, in person over the controversy surrounding the organisation.
Speaking during an interview with social media activist Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), Adeyemi said he had never held a face-to-face meeting with Gbajabiamila and could not confirm or deny the Chief of Staff’s involvement in the matter.
The denial comes days after Gbajabiamila’s lawyer, Kemi Pinheiro (SAN), threatened legal action against Adeyemi over allegations linking the Chief of Staff to the alleged fake agency.
Responding to questions during the interview, Adeyemi said he had only spoken to someone he believed to be Gbajabiamila on the telephone on about three occasions through his late associate, Dolapo Tanimola, but acknowledged the conversations were not conducted via video call.
When asked whether he could be certain the person on the calls was Gbajabiamila, Adeyemi admitted he could not verify this. He also confirmed that all transactions connected to the agency were handled through his late friend.
Commenting on the Chief of Staff’s denial of any involvement, Adeyemi said he could neither accuse Gbajabiamila of lying nor affirm his innocence, insisting that only a proper investigation could establish the truth.
He said this was why he had called on President Bola Tinubu to order a probe into the matter.
Adeyemi is standing trial over his alleged role in operating the PFIPC, which the Presidency has described as a fictitious organisation. The case has been adjourned until July 14, 2026, at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
He had earlier alleged that Gbajabiamila demanded 48 per cent of the agency’s purported N27.4 billion take-off grant and received N400 million connected to appointments within the organisation.
Gbajabiamila, through his lawyer, has denied the allegations, insisting he never had any contact with Adeyemi, either directly or through intermediaries, and has threatened a N10 billion defamation suit.
Meanwhile, President Tinubu has directed the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate the allegations and submit its findings within 30 days.
Adeyemi also said he intended to surrender himself to the police or the Department of State Services (DSS) after the interview, although it remained unclear at the time of reporting whether he had done so.
