Prince Adeyemi Matthew Adeniyi, who describes himself as the Director-General of the alleged Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), has explained how the controversial agency eventually appeared in the Federal Government’s budget despite his arrest before the appropriation process was completed.
Speaking during an interview with social media personality Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, Adeniyi claimed that President Bola Tinubu’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, had no involvement in the reported PFIPC budget controversy or the agency’s budgetary allocation.
According to Adeniyi, he personally approached officials at the Budget Office in December 2024 to seek the agency’s inclusion in the 2025 Appropriation Bill. However, he said he was informed that the budget process had already closed and was advised that the proposal would instead be considered during preparations for the 2026 budget. He explained that after submitting the necessary documents, he maintained communication with Budget Office officials, hoping the proposal would eventually be accommodated.
Adeniyi further alleged that a female official assisted him in gaining access to the Director-General of the Budget Office before he was directed to another senior official. According to him, the officials informed him that although the proposal could not be inserted into the 2025 budget, efforts would continue toward securing its inclusion in the following year’s appropriation.
Addressing allegations that he paid officials to facilitate the process, Adeniyi denied offering cash to anyone. He maintained that the only assurances he gave were promises of future employment opportunities if the agency eventually became operational. According to him, no money exchanged hands during his interactions with Budget Office officials, insisting that any discussions centred only on possible employment opportunities once the organisation commenced operations.
He said his arrest effectively brought every ongoing discussion to an end, noting that even officials who had been communicating with him could no longer reach him after his legal troubles began. Adeniyi added that he was surprised when he later learnt that the agency had appeared in the budget despite his absence from the process, insisting he had stopped pursuing the matter after his arrest.
When asked how the agency eventually found its way into the appropriation document, he admitted he had no explanation for the development, saying he had already shifted his attention to defending himself in court. The PFIPC budget controversy also extended to allegations surrounding his appointment. Adeniyi claimed that a payment of $400 million was delivered through his late associate, Dolapo Tanimola, whom he described as the intermediary throughout the process.
However, he acknowledged that he never personally met Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila either before or after his purported appointment. According to him, every communication and transaction was handled exclusively through Tanimola, adding that he could not personally confirm whether any money ever reached the Chief of Staff.
The claims come amid ongoing legal proceedings and investigations surrounding the alleged PFIPC, with the controversy continuing to generate public debate over the agency’s reported inclusion in the federal budget and the circumstances surrounding its existence.
