By Ihechi Enyinnaya
The Presidency has dismissed claims by Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew that he was appointed Director-General of a Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, describing him as an impostor who headed a fictitious agency and is currently facing criminal charges.
In a statement issued on Wednesday by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the Presidency said it became aware of Adeyemi’s activities after complaints from the Nigerian Investment Promotion Council (NIPC) that another agency appeared to be operating at cross-purposes with it.
According to the statement, the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President petitioned the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigeria Police Force on October 17, 2025, over the activities of individuals allegedly forging appointment letters purportedly issued from the Chief of Staff’s office.
The petition alleged that forged documents bearing falsified signatures, reference numbers and official seals were used to claim leadership appointments to a non-existent Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, with Adeyemi allegedly presenting himself as its Director-General.
The Presidency said Adeyemi and members of the group reportedly operated from an office at the Federal Secretariat Complex, hosted meetings with Nigerian and foreign officials, and even sought a note verbale from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to facilitate United States visas for some of their staff.
According to the statement, the Chief of Staff described the activities as criminal acts capable of undermining the integrity of the Presidency and requested security agencies to identify and prosecute those responsible. Copies of the forged appointment letter, a request for a note verbale and photographs from the agency’s website were submitted as part of the petition.
The Presidency further disclosed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had earlier raised concerns over the agency after Adeyemi reportedly met ambassadors at the Wells Carlton Hotel and Apartments in Abuja on October 10, 2025, without the ministry’s involvement.
In a letter dated October 15, 2025, signed by Ambassador Anderson Madubuike, the ministry sought clarification from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and the Chief of Staff, noting that the meeting violated established diplomatic procedures.
The ONSA subsequently wrote to the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF), which in turn requested clarification from the Chief of Staff regarding Adeyemi’s status.
The Presidency maintained that the Chief of Staff had already denied issuing any appointment letter to Adeyemi, stressing that appointments are the exclusive responsibility of the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and not the Chief of Staff.
On November 5, 2025, the Chief of Staff again wrote to the OSGF, insisting that neither Adeyemi nor the purported Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council was known to his office and reiterating that security agencies had been directed to investigate the matter.
According to the statement, police investigators arrested Adeyemi on October 27, 2025, at the Federal Secretariat office from where he allegedly operated the scheme. Searches conducted at the office and his Suleja residence reportedly yielded several documents and exhibits.
The statement said Adeyemi informed investigators that one Dolapo Babatunde Tanimola assisted him in obtaining the forged appointment letter. However, police investigations established that Tanimola had died in a fire incident at Kachi Hotel in Abuja on October 22, 2025, five days before Adeyemi’s arrest.
The Presidency said police investigations established that the agency was fictitious and that Adeyemi forged his appointment letter and other official documents, falsely presented himself as a government appointee and fraudulently sought a diplomatic note from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to secure U.S. visas.
Investigators also reportedly discovered that Adeyemi operated 34 bank accounts, including nine opened in the names of fictitious organisations such as the FCT Investment Promotion Agency and Public Private Partnership (FIPA-APP), as well as the FCT Investment Promotion Act.
The statement further alleged that Adeyemi used forged documents to fraudulently open an account with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) by misleading the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation. However, it added that no government funds were transferred into the account.
Quoting the police investigation report prepared by Assistant Commissioner Kabir Mogaji, the Presidency said Adeyemi’s actions amounted to criminal forgery, impersonation and obtaining by false pretence, bringing the Presidency into disrepute.
Based on the findings, the police filed an eight-count charge against Adeyemi and two alleged accomplices before the Federal High Court in Abuja on November 27, 2025. The case is scheduled for hearing on July 27, 2026.
The Presidency also said that while on police bail, Adeyemi recently repeated claims that he had been appointed by the Chief of Staff as Director-General of the fictitious agency, despite allegedly admitting otherwise in his earlier statement to investigators.
It noted that this prompted the Chief of Staff to issue another disclaimer on June 8, 2026, reaffirming that Adeyemi was an impostor.
The statement further claimed that Adeyemi had a history of falsely presenting himself as a public official. It recalled that in 2016 he claimed to be an ambassador and President-General of the World Youth Organisation, which he described as a United Nations affiliate, before the UN denied the existence of such an organisation.
The Presidency urged politicians and members of the public not to accept Adeyemi’s claims as fact, stressing that the matter is before the court and that comments should be guided by the ongoing judicial process.