Prince Adeyemi Adeniyi, the self-aclaimed Director-General of the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), has opened up on how the fake agency found its way into the federal budget.
Adeniyi revealed that he was no longer involved when the N1.3 billion allocation eventually appeared in the appropriation document.
He made the disclosure in a recorded interview with social media influencer Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan.
The video was released shortly after his arrest over allegations of forgery, impersonation and conspiracy linked to the operation of the agency.
According to Adeniyi, he visited the Budget Office in December 2024 to seek the inclusion of PFIPC in the 2025 budget but was informed that the submission process had already closed.
“I went to that Budget Office for the 2025 budget. I submitted the letter and everything that I wanted, but I was told it was already late. When the 2025 budget came out and I didn’t see it, they told me it would now be for the 2026 budget,” he said.
He claimed that a female official in the Budget Office facilitated his meeting with senior officials, adding that he was allegedly asked to offer gratification before his proposal could be considered.
“She helped me to see the oga. Oga now said, ‘Where is my shini?’ I said I don’t have any shini. He later asked me to meet one director,” Adeniyi stated.
According to him, the director informed him that PFIPC could not be included in the 2025 budget because the process had already been concluded, but assured him that consideration could be given during the next budget cycle.
Adeniyi said his legal troubles and subsequent arrest ended every effort related to the proposed agency, insisting he had no knowledge of how PFIPC later appeared in the budget.
“Immediately, there was a problem, everything stopped. Even the woman that wanted to help was calling because she couldn’t reach me. I told her to let everything stop,” he said.
“I didn’t even know until they said it was inside the budget. I had already left the office.”
The controversy over PFIPC has attracted nationwide attention after it emerged that about N1.32 billion was allocated to the agency despite claims by the Federal Government that it was never legally established.
The House of Representatives is set to begin a formal investigation into the inclusion of the agency in the budget. The ad hoc committee, chaired by Yusuf Gagdi, is expected to trace how the allocation entered the appropriation process and determine the officials involved.
The probe follows Adeniyi’s arrest by operatives of the Force Intelligence Department’s Intelligence Response Team after he allegedly failed to appear in court over charges bordering on impersonation and forgery.
Adeniyi also denied allegations linking President Bola Tinubu’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, to the budget controversy, saying he never met the former Speaker of the House of Representatives.
“I never met Gbajabiamila physically before and after he was appointed. Dolapo Tanimola handled everything for me,” he said, referring to a late associate whom he claimed acted as an intermediary.
He further denied paying any money to officials of the Budget Office, insisting that the only promises he made were future employment opportunities if the agency became operational.
The Presidency and the Office of the Chief of Staff have repeatedly denied any involvement in the matter. Gbajabiamila has also filed a N15 billion defamation suit against Adeniyi over claims that he received money to facilitate the establishment of the agency.
