The Director General of the controversial and allegedly fictitious Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), Mathew Adeniyi Adeyemi, has denied ever meeting Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, in person, even as the scandal surrounding the agency continues to deepen.
Speaking from an undisclosed location during a 16-minute, 26-second conversation with social media activist Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), Adeyemi admitted he could neither confirm nor deny Gbajabiamila’s involvement in the controversy.
The interview comes about 72 hours after Gbajabiamila, through his lawyer, Kemi Pinheiro (SAN), threatened the embattled PFIPC boss with a N10 billion defamation suit over allegations linking him to the agency.
At the start of the interview, VDM sought clarification on whether Adeyemi had ever met the President’s Chief of Staff personally.
VDM asked, “Let’s start with this: did you at any point in time meet with Femi Gbaja one-on-one to discuss this whole thing?”
Adeyemi replied, “no.”
Pressed further on whether they had communicated by telephone, VDM asked, “Did you speak on the phone to discuss this whole thing?”
Adeyemi responded, “Yes, like three times I’ve once spoken to him through my late friend, Dolapo Tanimola.”
Questioning the authenticity of those conversations, VDM asked, “How are you sure it was Gbaja? Did you speak to him on video call? Anybody could have collected that phone.”
Adeyemi answered, “No, it was not on video call.”
He also confirmed that all dealings relating to the alleged agency were handled through his late associate after VDM asked him to verify that “every transaction that was done was through your friend and that your friend is late.”
When VDM suggested that it was possible Gbajabiamila had no knowledge of the matter, saying, “If the Chief of Staff is coming to say he is not the one, it is possible (that he is not). In Nigeria, anything can happen,” Adeyemi agreed, replying, “Of course! Yes.”
Asked whether Gbajabiamila was being truthful or dishonest about his denial, Adeyemi said, “I wouldn’t say he is lying and I wouldn’t say he is saying the truth.”
He explained that the uncertainty surrounding the allegations was why he had appealed to President Bola Tinubu to order a thorough investigation into the matter.
Adeyemi is currently facing trial over his alleged role in operating the PFIPC, which the Presidency has described as a fictitious organisation. His case has been adjourned to July 14, 2026, at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
At a press conference on June 25, 2026, Adeyemi had accused Gbajabiamila of demanding 48 per cent of the agency’s alleged N27.4 billion take-off grant, about N12.5 billion, and separately alleged that the Chief of Staff received N400 million linked to appointments within the organisation.
Gbajabiamila, through his counsel, Kemi Pinheiro (SAN), dismissed the allegations as false, insisting he had never met or communicated with Adeyemi directly or through any intermediary, while threatening legal action over the bribery, murder and other criminal allegations made against him.
Amid the controversy, President Tinubu on Tuesday directed the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the alleged fake agency and submit its findings within 30 days.
Adeyemi also disclosed during the interview that he intended to surrender himself to either the police or the Department of State Services (DSS) after speaking with VDM, although it was not immediately clear whether he had done so at the time of filing the report.
