Nigeria’s anti-graft agency has drawn a firm line under weeks of speculation, formally clearing the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, of any role in the elaborate scheme that saw a fake federal agency operate out of the corridors of power in Abuja.
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) told journalists that its investigation found no evidence linking the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, to the appointment of Adeniyi Adeyemi as director-general of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), a fake federal agency.
The finding extended beyond Mr. Gbajabiamila personally to clear his entire office and the seat of government itself, with the commission stating there was no evidence tying the Chief of Staff, the Office of the Chief of Staff, or the State House to Mr. Adeyemi, the PFIPC, or anyone purporting to act on the council’s behalf.
The probe was ordered by President Bola Tinubu after Mr Adeyemi went public with explosive allegations, claiming he had paid N400 million to the Chief of Staff to secure his appointment as Director-General of the agency and had also been asked to hand over 48 percent of the agency’s proposed N27.3 billion take-off grant.
Mr Adeyemi further alleged that his dealings with Mr Gbajabiamila were brokered by a now-deceased intermediary and called on investigators to examine that death as part of their inquiry.
Mr. Gbajabiamila rejected the claims from the outset, describing them as false and defamatory, and responded with a N15 billion defamation suit against his accuser. He later cooperated fully with investigators, appearing at ICPC headquarters in Abuja in July on the president’s directive.
According to ICPC Chairman Dr. Musa Aliyu, forensic work rather than testimony ultimately settled the matter.
Investigators determined that the letter used to request an administrative code from the Office of the Accountant-General was forged and never originated from the State House, while the signature attributed to Mr. Gbajabiamila on Mr. Adeyemi’s appointment letter did not match the Chief of Staff’s specimen signature on file.
The trail, the commission said, led not to the presidency but back to Mr Adeyemi himself, whom forensic examinations linked directly to the forged documents and fabricated State House correspondence.
The commission’s findings went further still: Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew was never appointed by the federal government or any authority of government, and the PFIPC itself had no legal basis, having never been created by any law, executive order, or other valid instrument of government.
Investigators also concluded that Mr Adeyemi had gone on to create two further fake government bodies and had unlawfully occupied the former offices of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council, using forged paperwork to project an air of legitimacy for his operations.
Importantly, the ICPC said there was no indication public money had changed hands: the commission said it found no evidence that federal government funds were approved or released to the purported PFIPC and found no system failure within the State House or the Central Bank of Nigeria.
What the probe did expose, Dr. Aliyu said, were serious gaps in Nigeria’s bureaucratic verification chain and weaknesses in inter-agency coordination that a determined fraudster was able to exploit, aided in places by official negligence.
Mr Adeyemi, now in custody, has denied wrongdoing and previously told reporters he considered the case against him a “defence mechanism” by the state. He is separately facing criminal charges over the PFIPC’s activities, alongside two co-defendants said to be at large, on counts including forgery and impersonation.
The ICPC has recommended his prosecution, along with administrative sanctions for officials whose lapses allowed the scheme to take root, and broader reforms to tighten document verification across government.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
The ICPC found no evidence that Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila, his office, or the State House had any link to Adeniyi Adeyemi or the fake PFIPC agency.
Forensic analysis showed the appointment letter and signature were forged, and the fraud was traced directly back to Adeyemi himself, who fabricated the agency, forged documents, and exploited weak verification systems within government institutions, not any complicity at the top.
No public funds were disbursed, and Adeyemi now faces prosecution.
