Only independent panel will unravel ‘phantom’ agency
The high-profile scandal involving Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, and Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Mathew, the self-styled Director General of the now disputed Presidential Economic Advisory Council/Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PEAC/PFIPC), has become the most astonishing failure of institutional oversight in the country in recent times. It has cast a shadow of […]
The high-profile scandal involving Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, and Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Mathew, the self-styled Director General of the now disputed Presidential Economic Advisory Council/Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PEAC/PFIPC), has become the most astonishing failure of institutional oversight in the country in recent times. It has cast a shadow of doubt on the integrity and competence of officials and institutions of the Nigerian state.
Adeyemi first publicly accused Gbajabiamila of demanding a N600 million bribe for his appointment and claiming pressure to surrender 48 per cent of a proposed N24 billion (or variously reported N27.4 billion) take-off grant for the agency. Maintaining that his appointment was genuine, he alleged the agency existed (citing budget listings, office space, bank accounts, and operations for over a year) and that Gbajabiamila was aware of and involved.
The Presidency strongly denied the claims, describing Adeyemi as an impostor running a fictitious/non-existent agency, accusing him of forgery and impersonation, including forging presidential appointment letters, signatures, seals, and documents. Gbajabiamila reportedly reported the matter to security agencies in October 2025, leading to investigations and charges. Calling him a “serial con artist,” Adeyemi is already facing criminal charges in the case before the Federal High Court, with Gbajabiamila and others listed as witnesses.
Outside these measures, the Chief of Staff, through his solicitors, Pinheiro LP, gave Adeyemi 72 hours to withdraw the “false and defamatory allegations” or face both civil and criminal legal actions. He is also demanding a public apology, the removal of the alleged defamatory publications from all media platforms, and a written undertaking that no further allegations would be made against him.
The issues involved are too weighty and have immense implications for Nigeria. Daily Trust believes that what is at stake is the unprecedented reputational and institutional damage to the country and the integrity of its institutions such as The Presidency, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Nigeria Police, Department of State Services (DSS), National Assembly (NASS), Budget Office, Accountant General of the Federation, Office of National Security adviser (ONSA), Office of the Government of the Federation (OSGF), Office of Head of Service of the Federation (OHSF).
What is staring Nigerians in the face is the failure of systematic internal controls that sustain a modern state and it puts a question mark on Nigeria’s financial and administrative regulatory agencies and how easily they can be deceived, manipulated or made to display gross dereliction of duty. Daily Trust is more worried that if it is not handled effectively, it could trigger investor deterrence and elevate Nigeria’s risk narratives among multilateral institutions, rating agencies and investors. Already, the controversy is feeding into broader scepticism about Nigeria’s low governance model, which has weakened the nation’s regional and global standing and deployment of soft power.
While acknowledging the President’s Tuesday directive to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to conduct a thorough investigation into the activities of the Council “and all related matters,” we believe that it is not far-reaching enough. The enormity of the scandal and the institutions and individuals mentioned demand a much broader platform. Moreover, the terms of reference are not clear and explicit on how ICPC would alone investigate sister agencies and other institutions whose failure brought Nigeria into opprobrium.
Therefore, Daily Trust urges the President to take this matter more seriously and empanel a credible, independent body consisting of anti-corruption agencies, respected non-partisan statesmen and women drawn from civil society, the judiciary, and international observers who are versed in anti-corruption issues. This is a golden opportunity for the President to demonstrate his repeated assurances to Nigerians that he is committed to the war against corruption and the promotion of transparency in public service by constituting a credible, independent and transparent inquiry.
The panellists should forensically audit the 2026 budget documents, investigate both the accuser and the Presidency’s claims, dissecting bank records, CBN/AGF processes, and any other ghost agencies that may be lurking within the system.
To us, this is not a mere administrative infringement but how routine safeguards that protect the sanctity of government and detect infractions failed spectacularly. It is clear that whatever smells rotten, walks rotten, and looks rotten would invariably have something rotten in it. Among other failures, Nigerians need to know how OSGF approved his attendance at the Canada-Africa Fintech Summit (CAFS) in August 2025 or how a supposedly “fake” parastatal secured a .gov.ng domain through the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) without necessary checks and balances.
In any case, how did a “non-existent” PFIPC, in a line-item part of The Presidency’s 2026 budget passed by the National Assembly and assented to by the President, have an N1.3 billion allocation and also allegedly secure CBN account access and also open 34 accounts within the banking sector despite the much-trumpeted Know Your Customer (KYC) and due diligence protocols. The agency secured a Federal Secretariat office and got the waiver to recruit hundreds of staff, and its leadership held meetings with diplomats and top federal government officials, including the chairman of EFCC.
Therefore, we urge the President to understand that what is required is a continuous and deliberate building of credibility for our institutions, which a fact-based and transparent independent panel would engender. Any attempt to handle this scandal in a business-as-usual manner will only deepen the cynicism and impunity Nigerians associate with governance.
We expect that the envisaged panel, while conducting a comprehensive and transparent investigation, should unearth the officials and offices that granted the Adeyemi presidential access and security clearance, the individuals who approved every correspondence leading to approval and insertion into the 2026 budget, allocation of offices within the Federal Secretariat, and approval to host investment promotion conference and meetings with top government officials and diplomats. This will also help to find out if there is any other phantom agency lurking around and collecting budgetary allocations. It is important that the impression should not be created that said Adeyemi is a mythic figure who can singlehandedly bend the nation and its agencies with impunity.
Daily Trust insists that no attempt should be made to shut down public scrutiny or engage in any obfuscation. No sloppiness should ever be allowed, as what we have in hand is a credibility crisis beyond our borders which demands not only integrity but also all appearances of integrity.
The President should use this opportunity to deliberately begin a much more rigorous restoration of the citizens’ confidence in the integrity of government institutions. Never again should national security be breached by any fraudster and their collaborators who exploit systemic weaknesses to catch the nation’s security and regulatory agencies pants down.
This is most important as how this is finally resolved will largely affect the citizens’ perception of integrity associated with this administration, but also how foreign governments, investors, development partners, and other international organisations perceive the genuineness of official communications of the Nigerian state.