The Presidency has claimed that Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew is an impostor who fabricated official documents to present himself as the Director-General of a non-existent government body, variously styled as the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council and the Presidential Economic Advisory Council.
According to a detailed statement issued today by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, the fraud came to light after officials at the Nigerian Investment Promotion Council complained that another agency was operating at cross-purposes with their work.
On 17 October 2025 the Chief of Staff to the President wrote to the Department of State Services and the Nigeria Police Force. He reported the forgery of appointment letters bearing falsified signatures, reference numbers and seals, used to claim leadership of entities that did not exist. The letter named the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council under “Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew”, with a claimed office at the Federal Secretariat Complex, Phase III, 2nd Floor in Abuja. The group had hosted meetings with foreigners and Nigerian citizens and had sought a note verbale from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to obtain United States visas for its staff.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs raised its own concerns on 15 October 2025 after Adeyemi held an unauthorised meeting with ambassadors at the Wells Carlton Hotel in Asokoro on 10 October. The Ministry wrote to the National Security Adviser and the Chief of Staff, describing the approach as a breach of diplomatic protocol. Further letters passed between the National Security Adviser, the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and the Chief of Staff. In replies sent in late October and on 5 November 2025, the Chief of Staff stated clearly that no such appointment had been issued, that the agency did not exist, and that he had instructed the police to investigate.
Police arrested Adeyemi on 27 October 2025 at the Secretariat office. Searches of the premises and his home in Suleja recovered documents and exhibits. Adeyemi told officers that Dolapo Babatunde Tanimola had helped him obtain the fake appointment letter. Police confirmed that Tanimola had died five days earlier, on 22 October, in a fire at Kachi Hotel in Abuja.
Investigators concluded that the agency was fictitious, that Adeyemi had forged his appointment letter and other documents, that he had falsely presented himself as a government appointee, and that he had improperly sought a note verbale for visas. They found he operated 34 bank accounts, nine of them opened in the names of invented agencies including the FCT Investment Promotion Agency and the Public Private Partnership (FIPA-APP). He had also fraudulently opened a Central Bank of Nigeria account by misleading the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, although no government money was transferred.
The Assistant Commissioner of Police, Kabir Mogaji, who conducted the investigation, stated that the suspect’s actions amounted to criminal forgery, impersonation and obtaining by false pretence, bringing the Office of the Chief of Staff and the Presidency into disrepute.
On 27 November 2025 police filed an eight-count charge against Adeyemi and two alleged accomplices at the Federal High Court in Abuja. He is due to appear on 27 July 2026.
While on police bail, Adeyemi recently repeated his claim that the Chief of Staff had appointed him Director-General. This contradicted his earlier police statement. On 8 June 2026 the Chief of Staff issued a further disclaimer confirming that Adeyemi is an impostor.
The statement also refers to Adeyemi’s earlier fraud. In November 2016 he claimed to be an ambassador and President-General of the World Youth Organisation, an alleged United Nations affiliate elected in New Delhi. The claim was later debunked when the United Nations confirmed no such body existed.
The Presidency has urged politicians and the public not to use Adeyemi’s claims to attack the Chief of Staff, describing the matter as sub judice and advising all parties to await the court’s judgement.
The statement was issued by Bayo Onanuga on 1 July 2026.
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