Furore in Nigeria over fake federal agency set up in government HQ | Nigeria
A fictitious federal entity allocated 1.3 billion naira (£700,000) in Nigeria’s 2026 budget has precipitated a political storm in Africa’s largest democracy ahead of general elections in January.
The fake agency was exposed last October when Femi Gbajabiamila said: The President’s private secretary has written a letter to the police alleging that his signature, official seals and reference numbers were forged by Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, who claimed to have been presidentially appointed as the chairman of the presidential foreign interference promotion council (PFIPC).
The case is expected to be heard in a court in the capital Abuja on July 27, more than six months after police laid eight charges against Adeyemi and two others, including forgery, impersonation and obtaining by false pretense.
at 1 July statementThe Nigerian presidency also alleged that Adeyemi met with ambassadors without the knowledge of the foreign ministry and misled the country’s accountant general about opening accounts for PFIPC at the central bank and 33 commercial banks.
The real Nigeria investment promotion council has also reportedly raised alarm over similarities with PFIPC.
Apart from its inclusion in the budget, PFIPC was also allocated office space at the federal secretariat in Abuja, a massive complex housing the headquarters of Nigeria’s civil service and many government ministries and agencies.
This raises questions about how Adeyemi was able to gain access, with some critics suggesting he colluded with officials at the highest levels of government.
“Politicians and the public who weaponize Adeyemi’s allegation against the army chief should refrain from swallowing his narrative hook, words and nonsense,” the presidential statement said in defense of Gbajabiamila.
Local reports say Adeyemi claimed that he was given the appointment letter by Gbajabiamila, who denied knowing him or being in contact.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Monday directed the independent corrupt practices and other related crimes commission (ICPC) to launch an investigation. Days later, a Senate motion to independently investigate the presidential foreign interference promotion council (PFIPC) failed to pass.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives has set up a committee to question the minister of budget and economic planning, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu.
The president and his supporters of the ruling party pointed out that Adeyemi had previously misrepresented himself as the newly elected chairman of the UN youth organization called the World Youth Organization in 2017.
Aides had said he had sought permission from the U.N. Security Council to appoint staff around the world.
“967 candidates will work in my worldwide office,” one of their representatives said. quoted as saying In Nigeria’s daily Punch newspaper. “This will allow the organization to function effectively and ensure coordination around the world.”
It was later revealed that the WYO was not affiliated with or part of the UN.
Critics of the Tinubu administration have pointed to the questionable records of key government officials implicated in the scandal.
In 2007, the Supreme Court of the US state of Georgia gave Gbajabiamila a three-year ban from practicing law in Atlanta for failing to transfer $25,000 in personal injury compensation awarded to a client four years earlier.
Gbajabiamila repaid the money in 2006 and later admitted breaching the rules of professional conduct, but blamed the incident It’s about a paralegal who “closed the cases on my instructions but unfortunately did not pay the woman.”
Bagudu spent six months in a federal prison in Houston in 2003. According to the US Department of Justice, he was arrested because he is a felon. Allegation of being an accomplice More than $282 million was given in one go to former dictator Sani Abacha, who “embezzled, misappropriated and extorted billions of dollars from the Nigerian government.”
It was reported that Bagudu agreed to return $163 million to the Nigerian authorities, in return for which all cases filed against him were dropped and he was released without admitting his guilt.
The latest scandal has increased pressure on 74-year-old Tinubu ahead of elections in January and brought renewed attention to widespread corruption in Africa’s largest economy.
Former vice president Atiku Abubakar, who will contest Tinubu’s re-election bid in January, has called on his rival to set up an independent commission of inquiry comprising civil society leaders, opposition parties and neutral parties such as the Nigerian Bar Association to determine who exactly was involved in the scheme.
“Nigerians deserve the whole truth, not carefully worded press releases,” said his spokesman, Phrank Shuaibu. at the beginning of this monthHe adds: “That’s why we demand a truly independent investigation that follows the evidence wherever it leads. No sacred cows. No political protection. No selective justice.”
