Prince Adeyemi Matthew Adeniyi, who describes himself as the Director-General of the alleged Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), has claimed that the controversial agency was eventually captured in the Federal Government’s budget despite his arrest before the appropriation process was concluded.
Adeniyi made the assertions during an interview with social media personality Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, in a video released after his arrest. He maintained that the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, played no role in securing the reported N1.3 billion budget allocation for the organisation.
According to Adeniyi, he personally initiated discussions with officials at the Budget Office in December 2024 in an effort to have the agency included in the 2025 Appropriation Bill. However, he said he was informed that the budget process had already closed and was advised that the proposal could instead be considered for the 2026 fiscal year.
Explaining the process, Adeniyi alleged that a female official assisted him in meeting senior Budget Office officials, including the Director-General, before he was referred to another director for further discussions. He claimed the officials later informed him that the proposal could not be accommodated in the 2025 budget but assured him that efforts would continue ahead of the 2026 appropriation process.
Addressing allegations of bribery, Adeniyi denied paying any Budget Office official to facilitate the proposal. Instead, he said he merely promised future employment opportunities if the agency eventually became operational. According to him, no money exchanged hands during the interactions, insisting that his assurances were limited to offering possible jobs to individuals recommended by the officials once recruitment commenced.
Adeniyi further stated that his arrest brought every aspect of the proposal to a halt. He said he abandoned any follow-up on the budget after facing legal proceedings and was surprised to later learn that the agency had appeared in the approved budget.
When asked how the organisation eventually found its way into the appropriation despite his absence from the process, Adeniyi said he could not explain the development, stressing that he had stopped pursuing the proposal once his legal challenges began.
The interview also revisited allegations that he paid $400 million’s worth of funds through his late associate, Dolapo Tanimola, to facilitate his appointment. Adeniyi claimed the money was delivered in United States dollars through Tanimola but admitted he could not personally confirm whether it reached Gbajabiamila.
Despite making the allegation, Adeniyi acknowledged that he never met the President’s Chief of Staff in person before or after his appointment claims. He maintained that every communication was handled through Tanimola, whom he described as the intermediary throughout the process.
The claims come amid ongoing legal scrutiny surrounding the alleged PFIPC and the circumstances surrounding its reported inclusion in the Federal Government’s budget.
