The PFIPC investigation has entered a new phase following the reported arrest of the father and a family friend of embattled self-acclaimed Director-General of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council/Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, while the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) clarified that no operational Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) account existed for the controversial council.
The developments come amid ongoing legal proceedings against Adeyemi over allegations of forgery, impersonation and related offences.
The Presidency has consistently maintained that the PFIPC is not a legally established government agency, alleging that Adeyemi fraudulently presented himself as its Director-General using forged official documents.
The controversy intensified after the 2026 Appropriation Act listed the Presidential Economic Advisory Council/Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council under the Presidency with a budget allocation exceeding ₦1.3 billion, raising questions about the government’s budgeting and administrative processes.
Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, disclosed that police officers reportedly arrested Adeyemi’s father and a family friend during an operation at the family’s residence in Ogbomoso, Oyo State. According to Falana, the arrests lacked legal justification.
“Police have now stormed the house of the parents of Prince Adeyemi Adeniyi… The father has been arrested. There is no legal basis for substituted arrests. The young man has promised to show up in court, so why arrest his father?”
Residents who witnessed the operation alleged that officers arrived in four vehicles before taking Adeyemi’s father away.
One resident claimed the officers prevented neighbours from intervening, while another said the suspect’s mother was left traumatised after the incident. When contacted, Oyo State Police Command spokesperson, DSP Ayanlade Olayinka, said the matter falls under the jurisdiction of the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID), Abuja.
“The case involving Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew is a matter of national interest and is currently under investigation by the Force Criminal Investigation Department, Force Headquarters, Abuja.”
He advised journalists to direct further enquiries to the Force Headquarters or the FCID.
As the PFIPC investigation continued, the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation also clarified claims regarding the council’s finances. Presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga had earlier stated that investigators found Adeyemi used allegedly forged documents to open a CBN account, while maintaining that no government funds had been transferred into it.
However, Director of Public Relations at the OAGF, Bawa Mokwa, explained that although an application to open a CBN account was initiated, the process was never completed because the required authorised signatories were not submitted.
“The account has not seen the light of day. It has not received one kobo because it was never fully activated. The Accountant-General has not released any money because there is no operational account for such payment.”
Mokwa stressed that although the council received a budgetary allocation, inclusion in the Appropriation Act does not automatically authorise the release of funds.
He also dismissed claims that salaries had been paid to staff of the council, explaining that government agencies cannot recruit personnel or process salaries without approvals from the Federal Character Commission, the Budget Office and the Federal Civil Service Commission before workers are enrolled on the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).
According to him, none of those statutory requirements had been satisfied. He added that officers deployed from the OAGF to the council are expected to serve as prosecution witnesses during the trial.
The 2026 Federal Government budget allocated ₦1,302,978,784 to the Presidential Economic Advisory Council/Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, comprising: ₦802,978,783 for personnel costs, ₦200,000,001 for overhead expenditure, ₦300,000,000 for capital projects.
The existence of the allocation has generated public debate because the Presidency insists the council was never legally established.
Government officials said the controversy first emerged after the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) raised concerns in October 2025 that the purported council was performing functions similar to those of the commission. Following a petition from the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President, investigators allegedly recovered forged appointment letters and other official documents during the investigation.
The PFIPC investigation has expanded beyond the criminal allegations against Adeyemi to broader questions about government budgeting, institutional oversight and administrative accountability. Opposition leaders, legal practitioners and civil society organisations have called for an independent investigation into how the disputed council appeared in the 2026 Appropriation Act despite official claims that it never existed.
As criminal proceedings continue against Adeyemi, the conflicting accounts surrounding the council’s budget allocation, account-opening process and administrative recognition are expected to remain central issues in the ongoing public and legal scrutiny of the PFIPC controversy.
