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Adeniyi Adeyemi, who claims to be the Director-General of the controversial Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), has vowed to clear his name in court, insisting that his appointment was legitimate and known to senior government officials.
Speaking on a television programme on Thursday, Adeyemi said he was prepared to face trial over allegations of forgery, impersonation and fraud levelled against him by the Presidency.
"If I'm wrong, let the court decide, and if I'm right, let the court do the right thing," he said, maintaining that he was not a con artist as alleged by presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga.
Adeyemi declined to comment on issues relating to the council's funding, citing the ongoing court proceedings, but expressed confidence that the truth would emerge during the trial.
The controversy intensified after the Presidency disowned the PFIPC, describing it as a fictitious organisation and accusing Adeyemi of forging official documents and falsely presenting himself as its Director-General.
In response, Adeyemi alleged that the dispute began after he rejected a request by the President's Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, to surrender 48 per cent of the agency's take-off grant. He further claimed he paid N400 million through intermediaries to secure his appointment and still owed an outstanding N200 million.
Gbajabiamila has denied the allegations, while the Presidency has distanced him from any wrongdoing.
Adeyemi called on President Bola Tinubu to establish an independent panel to investigate the matter.
The controversy has been fuelled by the inclusion of the "Presidential Economic Advisory Council/Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council" in the 2026 Appropriation Bill, where it was allocated about N1.303 billion for personnel, overhead and capital expenditure.
Meanwhile, the Presidency said police investigations revealed that Adeyemi allegedly used forged documents to open a Central Bank of Nigeria account and operated several bank accounts linked to entities it described as fictitious.
According to Onanuga, Adeyemi and two others were charged before the Federal High Court in Abuja on an eight-count charge bordering on forgery, impersonation and obtaining by false pretence. The case is scheduled for hearing on July 27.
The Presidency maintained that Adeyemi's recent claim that Gbajabiamila appointed him contradicted statements he previously made to investigators, insisting that he remains an impostor who will answer the allegations before the court.
