Key facts
- The Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) operated as a government agency in Nigeria.
- PFIPC was allocated 1.3bn naira ($950,000) in the 2026 national budget.
- The presidency stated PFIPC was never legally established and its legitimacy stemmed from a forged document.
- Director General Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew denies the allegations and claims lawful appointment.
- Investigators are probing potential complicity of public officials in the creation of the fake agency.
- President Bola Tinubu has ordered an investigation by the country's anti-corruption commission.
A purported government agency in Nigeria, the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), which operated with government offices, civil servants, and a budget line in the national budget, has been revealed to have no legal basis for its existence. The presidency announced that the PFIPC was never created by law or any official instrument, and its apparent legitimacy was based on a single forged document—an appointment letter for its director general, Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, allegedly bearing the forged signature of the president's chief of staff, Femi Gbajabiamila.
Prince Matthew denies any wrongdoing, insisting the council was lawfully established and he was properly appointed. He has accused senior officials of demanding bribes and attempting to seize the council's funds, claims the presidency denies. While he is in hiding and facing charges including forgery and impersonation, investigators are examining how the Nigerian state machinery could have facilitated the operation of a fake agency.
Experts and former officials suggest that such an operation would require internal connivance within government offices, including the secretary to the government of the federation and the budget office. Transparency group BudgIT highlighted that the PFIPC's sudden appearance in the 2026 budget, fully formed with its own budget code, points to an executive origin rather than a parliamentary one. The government's account of whether public money was released has also shifted.
President Bola Tinubu has ordered the country's anti-corruption commission to investigate the matter, including the role of any public officers who may have assisted. However, critics and opposition parties are demanding an independent judicial inquiry, noting that Gbajabiamila, whose signature was allegedly forged, has been declared to have Tinubu's "100% confidence." The scandal is seen as a symptom of a dysfunctional budgeting process and the rapid growth in the number of government agencies in Nigeria.