The House of Representatives has cleared the Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila, of involvement in the activities of the purported Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, following an investigation into how the organisation appeared in the Federal Government’s 2026 budget structure.
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The House Ad Hoc Committee investigating the matter said its preliminary findings showed that Gbajabiamila did not create, approve or take part in the activities of the organisation. The committee chairman, Yusuf Gagdi, made this known on Wednesday while presenting the panel’s findings during a televised briefing.
According to the lawmakers, Gbajabiamila took steps to alert relevant security and investigative agencies after concerns were brought to his attention over the activities of the purported council.
The committee said the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission was among the first government bodies to raise concerns about possible fraudulent activities and the alleged misuse of official materials linked to the organisation.
The panel found that Gbajabiamila responded quickly by contacting the Nigeria Police Force, the Office of the National Security Adviser, the Department of State Services and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. He also instructed relevant government offices to carry out checks on the organisation and verify its claims.
The committee said the Chief of Staff later made additional requests for investigations after further issues emerged, including matters connected to a proposed world investment summit.
Based on the documents and information available to it, the panel said it found no proof that Gbajabiamila authorised, approved or established the purported council. Instead, it said available records showed that he repeatedly sought investigations and administrative checks whenever concerns about the organisation came before him.
The lawmakers therefore commended Gbajabiamila, at the preliminary stage of the investigation, for the actions he took in response to the concerns raised about the purported agency.
The committee also examined a letter said to have appointed Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi as Director-General of the organisation. It concluded that the document was forged and wrongly presented as an official document from the Presidency.
The appointment letter was said to carry the authority and signature of Gbajabiamila, but the panel said a review of State House records showed that he neither issued nor signed the document.
The lawmakers also discovered that the letterhead used on the document did not match the authentic State House letterhead. Its reference number was also found to be inconsistent with the official system used for presidential correspondence.
The investigation further questioned documents presented as a Presidential Executive Order and an Act of the National Assembly that were supposedly used to establish the organisation.
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One of the documents was presented as Executive Order No. 5 dated February 24, 2026. The committee said there was no record showing that the document had been issued or approved through the proper presidential process.
The panel also found that the supposed Act establishing the council had not been passed by the Senate and House of Representatives, signed into law by the President or published in the official gazette.
The lawmakers said part of another legal document belonging to a different institution appeared to have been digitally changed or altered to make it look as though the National Assembly had created the purported council.
Following its review, the committee said it found no valid law, executive order, administrative decision or other lawful instrument establishing an institution known as the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council.
The investigation has also moved into the financial activities linked to the purported organisation. Preliminary information obtained by the committee indicated that about 58 bank accounts had identifying details connected to Adeyemi.
The controversy surrounding the organisation started after the purported council, allegedly led by Adeyemi, appeared in Nigeria’s 2026 Federal Government budget despite questions over its legal status.
Adeyemi had presented himself as the council’s Director-General and was alleged to have claimed that Gbajabiamila appointed him on behalf of President Tinubu. He also became linked to questions over financial dealings and the activities carried out in the name of the organisation.
Gbajabiamila denied any connection with the purported council, leading to further questions about how an organisation without clear legal backing could appear in government budget records and operate as though it were a recognised federal institution.
The House committee’s findings have now cleared the Chief of Staff at the preliminary stage, while investigations into the activities of Adeyemi and the purported council are still ongoing.
The matter has also raised wider concerns about how organisations claiming to be government agencies can gain access to official structures and records without proper legal approval.
The issue has gained further attention following the discovery by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission of another alleged fake government body, the National Brands Development and Made-in-Nigeria Special Project Office.
The House panel is expected to continue examining the circumstances surrounding the purported council, its financial activities and how it was able to operate within government structures despite the absence of a valid legal instrument establishing it.
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