The House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee investigating the controversial Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), Has directed the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Olatunji Disu, to produce the council’s self-acclaimed Director-General, Adeniyi Adeyemi, within 48 hours.
The committee ordered the IGP to ensure Adeyemi appears before it at noon on July 29, 2026, as lawmakers intensify their probe into the circumstances surrounding the establishment and operations of the disputed agency.
The directive came on Monday during the committee’s hearing, where the Accountant-General of the Federation, Shamseldeen Ogunjimi, disclosed that his office rejected the PFIPC’s request to open a Treasury Single Account (TSA) because it failed to satisfy the required due diligence procedures.
Ogunjimi told lawmakers that although the council applied for a TSA account, the request was declined pending compliance with established financial and administrative requirements.
The controversy surrounding the PFIPC began after Adeyemi publicly accused the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, of demanding 48 per cent of the council’s proposed ₦27.3 billion take-off grant. He further alleged that Gbajabiamila received ₦400 million through a proxy and sought an additional ₦200 million to facilitate presidential approvals.
Gbajabiamila has strongly denied the allegations in a sworn statement, insisting he has no personal, official, or professional relationship with Adeyemi. He also rejected claims that he demanded or received money, abused his office, interfered with law enforcement agencies, or had any involvement in the alleged death of Babatunde Tanimola, whom Adeyemi claimed acted as an intermediary. The Chief of Staff equally denied allegations linking him to an assassination attempt on Adeyemi or any interference with ongoing investigations.
Following the allegations, President Bola Tinubu directed the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate the matter.
Two weeks ago, Gbajabiamila filed a ₦15 billion defamation suit against Adeyemi at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. In the suit, he is seeking ₦10 billion in general damages, ₦5 billion in aggravated damages, ₦200 million as the cost of the action, and a court order compelling Adeyemi to publish a retraction and apology in five national newspapers and across all social media platforms where the alleged defamatory statements were circulated.
The House of Representatives had earlier constituted a 12-member ad hoc committee, chaired by Yusuf Gagdi, to investigate the circumstances surrounding the creation of the PFIPC, its inclusion in the 2026 Appropriation Act, and the alleged ₦1.3 billion budgetary allocation to the agency. Gagdi assured Nigerians that the committee would conduct a thorough and impartial investigation.
Last week, the ICPC confirmed that it questioned Gbajabiamila as part of its ongoing investigation.
During Monday’s hearing, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Esther Walson-Jack, told the committee that her office neither allocated office space at the Federal Secretariat nor deployed personnel to the PFIPC.
She explained that while the council requested the deployment of officers, the request was merely acknowledged and no action was taken. She also dismissed speculation that the PFIPC occupied office space within the Federal Secretariat, stating categorically that no such allocation was made by her office.
Similarly, the Director-General of the Budget Office, Tanimu Yakubu, informed lawmakers that none of the funds appropriated for the PFIPC had been released or spent.
According to Yakubu, although the National Assembly approved funding for the council, the statutory conditions required for the release and expenditure of the funds were never met.
“The conclusion is firm. Not one kobo of the personnel provision could lawfully have been drawn, and not one kobo was drawn. The overhead provision never matured into a lawful cash release. The capital provision never matured into procurement or expenditure. The conditions required for spending were not met and were not close to being met. There is therefore no personnel expenditure to recover. The money never moved because the controls held,” he said.
The committee is expected to continue its investigation when Adeyemi appears before lawmakers later this week.
