Adeniyi Adeyemi, director-general of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, says he is ready to cooperate with the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) in its investigation into the council.
Adeyemi made the statement on Tuesday during an Instagram interview with social media personality VeryDarkMan, hours after President Bola Tinubu directed the ICPC to investigate the activities of the council and related matters and submit a report within 30 days.
He also said he was willing to provide documents in his possession to security agencies to support ongoing investigations into the controversy surrounding the body.
“I am willing and ready to help security agencies or any panel set up by Mr President to unravel the truth,” Adeyemi said.
“In fact, any moment from now, I will go to the DSS or the police to submit all the documents I have to help them investigate and look into this matter.”
Adeyemi said the documents he possessed could assist investigators in determining how the council operated.
“They should authenticate them. They should verify them. They should unravel the truth,” he said.
During the interview, Adeyemi questioned how the council appeared in the national budget despite the Presidency’s position that the agency did not exist.
“When the Presidency, through the Chief of Staff, said the agency does not exist, I wondered how an agency that found its way into the national budget could suddenly be described as fake,” he said.
Adeyemi said he was in detention for 23 days while the budget was being prepared and did not participate in any budget defence process.
“I was in detention for 23 days during the period the budget was being prepared. I did not prepare or defend any budget, and nobody went to defend it on my behalf. That is why I am confused about how the agency found its way into the national budget,” he said.
Speaking on allegations involving Femi Gbajabiamila, chief of staff to the president, Adeyemi said an independent investigation was necessary to establish the facts.
“I wouldn’t say he’s lying, and I wouldn’t say he’s telling the truth. That is why I requested that Mr President set up an investigative panel to unravel the truth, so we will know those involved,” he said.
Adeyemi also claimed he was attacked by gunmen near Zuma Rock in September 2025 and said his involvement with the council was aimed at attracting foreign investment into Nigeria.
“I don’t really have a negative plan. It’s all about passion for the country. That agency is to bring foreign investors to Nigeria and make Nigeria a preferred destination for investment,” he said.
The Presidency has maintained that the Federal Government did not establish the council and directed the ICPC to conclude its investigation and submit its findings within 30 days.
Tinubu also instructed the anti-corruption agency to investigate forged appointment letters and government documents allegedly used by Adeyemi to obtain official recognition, diplomatic support and visa facilitation.
The president further directed investigators to examine the opening of multiple bank accounts in the names of purported government agencies using allegedly forged documents.
The directive followed calls from civil society organisations, opposition politicians and senior lawyers for an independent probe into how the council reportedly operated from the Federal Secretariat Complex, opened accounts with the Central Bank of Nigeria, appeared in the 2026 Appropriation Act with an allocation of N1.3bn and engaged diplomatic missions without an enabling law or presidential instrument.
Femi Falana, human rights lawyer representing Adeyemi, had questioned how the council was included in the national budget even if the appointment letter was forged and called for an investigation involving both Adeyemi and Gbajabiamila.
The Presidency denied any link between Gbajabiamila and the matter and said police forensic analysis confirmed that the signature on the appointment letter was forged.
