Two separate official correspondences from both chambers of the National Assembly addressed to the alleged Director-General of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council, Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, have surfaced, raising fresh questions over the operations and legitimacy of the agency.
The letters appear to suggest some level of communication between federal lawmakers and the agency which the Presidency has described as fictitious.
While the authenticity of the correspondences remains uncertain, one of the letters from the Senate, titled Nomination of Participants for the High Level Study Exchange on Anti Corruption Policy and Institutional Reforms and dated September 2, 2025, invited the Director-General to nominate participants from the agency for a week long programme in London, United Kingdom.
Similarly, a letter from the House of Representatives Committee on Treaties, Protocols and Agreements dated September 3, 2025 invited the embattled Director-General to participate in another executive exchange study programme in Casablanca, Morocco.
According to the letter, the event was aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s federal and state capacities in treaty negotiation, domestication and compliance.
The emergence of the two letters comes amid allegations and disclaimers from the Presidency that Adeniyi created the agency and appointed himself Director-General.
According to a statement from the Presidency, Adeniyi, described as a notorious con artist, allegedly secured office space at the Federal Secretariat, opened a CBN account in the agency’s name and got N1,302,978,784 captured in the 2026 budget.
Video evidence has also reportedly shown Adeniyi summoning ambassadors, meeting top government officials including Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Benjamin Kalu, and representing Nigeria at international conferences.
The controversy intensified after the Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila, on June 11, 2026 issued a disclaimer distancing his office from the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council and the Presidential Economic Advisory Council.
However, Adeniyi has denied wrongdoing, insisting that there is nothing he has done that was not known to the Chief of Staff, including what he described as his purchased appointment letter.
The controversy has also raised several questions, including how the agency’s name appeared in the 2026 appropriation budget and how it allegedly opened a Treasury Single Account with the CBN through the Office of the Accountant General, secured office space at the Federal Secretariat and employed more than 300 workers who were reportedly paid salaries.
Adeniyi further alleged that his relationship with the Chief of Staff deteriorated after he refused an alleged request for 48 per cent of the agency’s N27 billion take off grant by Gbajabiamila.
He also alleged that Gbajabiamila had collected a total of N400 million by proxy with an outstanding balance of N200 million to secure his appointment.
Adeniyi called for an investigation into the death of Mr Babatunde Tanimola, whom he described as the intermediary between himself and the Chief of Staff.
According to him, police records indicated that Tanimola died in a fire incident at a hotel in Utako, Abuja on October 22, 2025, a day after the petition from the Chief of Staff was received by the police.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
