The Presidency has dismissed bribery allegations against Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, describing claims made by Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi as false and tied to a fictitious agency.
In a statement on Wednesday, Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga said Adeyemi had been parading himself as Director General of a non-existent “Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council/Presidential Economic Advisory Council.”
Adeyemi had accused Gbajabiamila of demanding N27.39 billion as take-off grant for the agency and allegedly collecting N400 million through a proxy to secure his appointment, with N200 million outstanding.
He called on the President to set up an independent panel, including civil society and international groups, to probe the Chief of Staff, review documents he signed, investigate alleged assassination attempts on his life, and compel Gbajabiamila to step aside pending the outcome.
Gbajabiamila had earlier denied the allegations.
Onanuga said the Office of the Chief of Staff first raised the alarm over the illegal agency after the Nigerian Investment Promotion Council complained that another body appeared to be operating at cross-purposes with it.
On October 17, the Chief of Staff wrote to the DSS and the Police to investigate “fraudsters and imposters” forging appointment letters purportedly from his office. The letter included a copy of Adeyemi’s forged appointment letter, a request for a note verbal to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and pictures from the agency’s website.
Around the same time, the Foreign Affairs Ministry flagged concerns. In a letter dated October 15, 2025, and signed by Ambassador Anderson Madubuike, the Ministry asked the Office of the National Security Adviser and the Chief of Staff to clarify the status of Adeyemi’s agency. This followed Adeyemi’s October 10 meeting with ambassadors at Wells Carlton Hotel, Asokoro, without the Ministry’s involvement.
On October 20, the ONSA wrote to the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation on the Ministry’s request. On October 29, the OSGF sought clarification from the Chief of Staff, citing “several requests from governmental and non-governmental bodies seeking to ascertain the status of the appointment.”
Two days earlier, the Chief of Staff had sent a rebuttal to the Foreign Affairs Ministry stating he never issued an appointment letter to Adeyemi. “The Chief of Staff could not have issued a letter of appointment to a non-existent agency,” Onanuga said, adding that the Chief of Staff does not make appointments or write letters, as that is the exclusive preserve of the OSGF.
According to Onanuga, police investigations established that Adeyemi’s agency was fictitious. He allegedly forged his appointment letter and other documents found in his office and home, falsely paraded himself as a government appointee, and fraudulently solicited a note verbal from the Foreign Affairs Ministry to obtain U.S. visas for himself and his staff.
The police also found that Adeyemi operated 34 bank accounts. Nine were opened in the names of fictitious agencies — FCT Investment Promotion Agency and the Public Private Partnership, FIPA-APP, and the FCT Investment Promotion Act. Using fake documents, he allegedly misled the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation to open a CBN account. Onanuga said police confirmed that no government money had been transferred into the account.
