A fictitious federal entity allocated 1.3 billion naira (£705,248) in Nigeria's 2026 budget has sparked a political storm in Africa's largest democracy ahead of January's general election. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing The Guardian.
The fake agency came to light last October when Femi Gbajabiamila, the president's chief of staff, wrote to the police alleging that his signature, along with official seals and reference numbers, had been forged by Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, who was claiming to have been appointed by the presidency to head the presidential foreign intervention promotion council (PFIPC).
The case is due to be heard in a court in the capital, Abuja, on 27 July. Police filed an eight-count charge including criminal forgery, impersonation and obtaining by false pretence against Adeyemi and two others.
In a 1 July statement, the Nigerian presidency also claimed Adeyemi had met ambassadors without the knowledge of the foreign affairs ministry and misled the country's accountant-general's office into opening accounts for PFIPC with the central bank and 33 commercial banks. The actual Nigerian investment promotion council had also reportedly raised an alarm about the similarities with the PFIPC.
Apart from being included in the budget, the PFIPC was also allocated office space in the federal secretariat in Abuja. That has raised questions about how Adeyemi was able to gain access, with some critics speculating collusion with officials at the highest echelons of government.
"Politicians and members of the public who are weaponising Adeyemi's claim against the chief of staff should refrain from swallowing his narrative hook, line and sinker," the presidency statement said, defending Gbajabiamila.
Local reports say Adeyemi has claimed he was given the appointment letter by Gbajabiamila, who has denied knowing him or ever being in touch.
On Monday, President Bola Tinubu directed the independent corrupt practices and other related offences commission (ICPC) to open a probe. Days later, a Senate motion to independently investigate the PFIPC did not pass. Meanwhile the House of Representatives set up a committee to question Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, the minister of budget and economic planning.
The presidency and supporters of the ruling party have pointed out that Adeyemi had previously misrepresented himself as the newly elected president-general of a UN youth agency called World Youth Organisation back in 2017. It later turned out that the WYO was not affiliated with, or part of the UN.
Critics of the Tinubu administration have pointed to the controversial record of key government officials mentioned in the scandal. In 2007, the supreme court of the US state of Georgia handed Gbajabiamila a three-year suspension from practising law in Atlanta after failing to pass on $25,000 awarded as an injury settlement to a client four years earlier. Gbajabiamila paid back the money in 2006, and later admitted he violated professional conduct rules.
Bagudu spent six months in a federal prison in Houston in 2003. According to the US Department of Justice, he was arrested for being an alleged accomplice to former dictator Sani Abacha who "embezzled, misappropriated and extorted billions of dollars from the government of Nigeria". Bagudu reportedly agreed to return $163m to Nigerian authorities, who in turn dropped all cases against him.
The latest scandal has piled pressure on Tinubu ahead of January's election. Former vice-president Atiku Abubakar, who is due to challenge Tinubu's re-election bid, called for an independent commission of inquiry. "Nigerians deserve the whole truth, not carefully scripted press statements," his spokesperson Phrank Shuaibu said earlier this month.