Why They Used Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi in the PFICP Scandal

The explosive controversy surrounding the so-called Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFICP) has thrown up a disturbing theory: Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi was not chosen as Director General despite his controversial past he was chosen because of it.

According to political analysts and sources tracking the scandal, Adeyemi’s selection was a calculated move rooted in his alleged 2016 brush with the United Nations. At the time, he had presented himself as ambassador and President-General of a claimed UN-affiliated World Youth Organisation a claim the UN publicly disavowed.

This history, the theory holds, made him the ideal and most “usable” candidate. By installing someone already carrying a ready-made “con artist” label, those behind the scheme created an easy exit strategy. When Adeyemi allegedly refused to meet key demands — most notably the reported insistence on a 48 percent share of the proposed multi-billion-naira take-off grant the narrative was already prepared: he could simply be branded a serial fraudster who had struck again.

Had the role gone to someone with a clean record, it would have been far harder to convince the public, the media, and international partners that the Director General was inherently untrustworthy. A spotless background would have demanded real evidence rather than a convenient pre-existing reputation.

This, insiders say, was the singular reason Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi was deemed the perfect personality to front the so-called PFICP.

The theory has gained traction as Adeyemi, speaking from hiding, claims his problems began after he resisted demands for large upfront payments and a 48 percent cut of the agency’s proposed grant. The Presidency has dismissed the entire PFICP as fictitious, accused Adeyemi of forging appointment documents, and described him as a known impostor now facing charges of forgery and impersonation. He is scheduled to appear in court on 27 July.

Opposition leaders, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and rights activist Femi Falana, have demanded an independent investigation, arguing that the scandal raises serious questions about how such an operation could have operated for months with apparent official cover.

As the legal and political storm intensifies, the central question remains: why was Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi handed the PFICP platform in the first place? According to this growing narrative, the answer lies not in his competence or credibility, but in the convenience of his past making him the easiest person to use, and the easiest to discard.