File photos: Gbajabiamila and Adeyemi
“I never met Gbajabiamila physically before and after he was appointed. Dolapo Tanimola handled everything for me,” Adeyemi said.
Self-made Director-General of the supposed Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council, PFIPC, Prince Adeniyi Matthew Adeyemi, has explained how the agency got into the Federal Government’s 2026 budget even though he was arrested before the appropriation process was concluded.
This is coming as the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee investigating the PFIPC saga on Monday began a probe into the establishment of the council, with the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, OHCSF, and the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, testifying and distancing themselves from its creation and operation.
Adeyemi made the claims in an interview with social media influencer Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, in a recording released shortly after his arrest.
He said the Chief of Staff to the President, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila, had no hand in the N1.3 billion budgetary allocation, adding that he personally approached top officials of the Budget Office for the agency’s inclusion.
He noted that the process was not completed before his arrest, saying he was surprised to later discover that the proposed agency had appeared in the budget.
According to him, he visited the Budget Office in December 2024 to seek the inclusion of the agency in the 2025 Appropriation Bill but was told that the budget process had already closed.
Adeyemi said: “I went to that Budget Office for the 2025 budget. I submitted the letter and everything that I wanted, but I was told it was already late.
“When the 2025 budget came out and I didn’t see it, they told me it would now be for the 2026 budget. We kept in touch because they said it would be considered later.”
He alleged that a female official helped him gain access to the office of the Director-General of the Budget Office before he was referred to another director.
“She helped me to see the oga. Oga now said, ‘Where is my shini?’ I said I don’t have any shini. He later asked me to meet one director,” he said.
Adeyemi said the director informed him that the proposal could no longer be accommodated in the 2025 budget but assured him that efforts would continue towards the 2026 appropriation.
“They were trying for me that maybe they would include it, but unfortunately they said it could not be included in the 2025 budget. They said it would be for 2026,” he stated.
When asked whether he paid any Budget Office official, Adeyemi said he only promised officials some favours in the execution of the deal.
“Honestly, I did not pay any money. I didn’t pay anybody. The only thing I promised was that if I started employing people, I could help them with employment opportunities,” he said.
He admitted promising future favours to some officials but insisted no cash exchanged hands during his interactions at the Budget Office.
“That was the favour I promised them. I did not give anybody money. It was just a promise that if they had people, I could employ them later,” he said.
According to Adeyemi, the process ended immediately after his arrest because his legal troubles overtook every other plan.
He said: “Immediately there was a problem, everything stopped. Even the woman that wanted to help was calling but she couldn’t reach me. I told her to let everything stop.
“I didn’t even know until they said it was inside the budget. I had already left the office. Where would I still pursue the budget when I was already facing the court?”
When the interviewer suggested that officials might have inserted the agency into the budget after his arrest, Adeyemi said he could not explain how it happened.
“I don’t know because once that problem started, everything stopped. Why would I still pursue the budget when I was already in trouble?” he said.
On allegations that he paid N400 million to facilitate his appointment, Adeyemi claimed the money was delivered in United States dollars through his late associate, Dolapo Tanimola, and that he was not sure if it was delivered to Gbajabiamila.
Asked the denomination of the money, he replied, “Dollars.” Asked who received it, he answered, “Dolapo.”
Adeyemi also denied ever meeting the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, despite alleging that money was sent through Tanimola.
Speaking further during the interview released on Tuesday, Adeyemi declared that he never met Gbajabiamila physically before or after his appointment.
He said Tanimola acted as the intermediary throughout the process and facilitated the alleged N400 million payment made in dollars.
“I never met Gbajabiamila physically before and after he was appointed. Dolapo Tanimola handled everything for me,” Adeyemi said.
