A featuring Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, the man at the centre of the alleged ₦1.3 billion "ghost agency" controversy, has resurfaced online, further fueling public debate over the existence of the purported government agency and its inclusion in the 2026 federal budget.
DIP CONNECT ONLINE NEWS reports that the footage, recorded during a press conference held in late June 2026, captures Adeyemi defending his claim as Director-General of the alleged Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council while disputing the position of the Presidency and the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President, headed by Femi Gbajabiamila.
During the briefing, Adeyemi questioned how an agency the Presidency described as non-existent could appear in official government budget documents.
According to him, the preparation and approval of the national budget involve several stages, including technical drafting, executive coordination, ministerial contributions, reviews by the Budget Office and legislative scrutiny by both chambers of the National Assembly.
He argued that the presence of the agency in official budget records raises concerns about the credibility of the budget preparation and approval process.
"The question becomes unavoidable: At what point in this process did references to a non-existent agency allegedly enter the official record? And if they are indeed present in official documentation, what does that imply about the integrity of the process that produced and approved those documents?" he asked.
Adeyemi also claimed that the alleged agency operated several accounts with the Central Bank of Nigeria, including a domiciliary account, a pounds sterling account and a Treasury Single Account (TSA).
He questioned whether it would be possible for a fictitious organisation to open and operate such accounts, particularly with the nation's apex bank.
In addition, Adeyemi alleged that Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila demanded 48 per cent of the agency's proposed ₦27.4 billion take-off grant, referencing an alleged request for ₦12.5 billion.
The Presidency has consistently rejected all the allegations.
According to the Office of the Chief of Staff, the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council has no legal status and was never established by the Federal Government.
The Presidency further alleged that Adeyemi forged official documents, including appointment letters bearing the names and signatures of senior government officials, in an attempt to present himself as the Director-General of the purported council.
Authorities also accused him of operating from an office within Phase III of the Federal Secretariat Complex, Abuja, where he allegedly held meetings with government officials, diplomats, foreign investors and members of the public while presenting himself as a senior government official.
The controversy intensified after reports indicated that an entity listed in the 2026 Appropriation Act as the Presidential Economic Advisory Council/Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council received more than ₦1.3 billion in budgetary allocations, prompting widespread public concern over how a body now described by the Presidency as fictitious appeared in the approved federal budget.
The reported allocation comprised approximately ₦803 million for personnel costs, ₦200 million for overhead expenses and ₦300 million for capital expenditure.
Adeyemi is currently standing trial before the Federal High Court on an eight-count charge bordering on forgery, impersonation, false personation and operating a fictitious government agency.
While the Presidency has maintained that the matter is now before the court and urged Nigerians to disregard Adeyemi's claims, he continues to insist that he is not an impostor, maintaining that the court will ultimately determine the legitimacy of the dispute.
ADEOLA KUNLE
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