By Emmanuel Thomas I Tuesday, July 14, 2026
ABUJA, Nigeria — A staggering political scandal is shaking the highest echelons of the Nigerian government, threatening to engulf President Bola Tinubu’s administration. At the center of the storm is Femi Gbajabiamila, the powerful Chief of Staff to the President, who faces explosive allegations of bribery and obstruction of justice in connection with a purportedly “fake” multibillion-naira federal agency.
The crisis escalated sharply following the arrest of Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, the embattled head of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC)—an entity the presidency insists is a complete fiction created by a master con artist.
However, prominent human rights activist and former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore has publicly decried the official narrative, calling the government’s actions the “biggest cover-up ever” and alleging a state-sponsored plot to silence a massive bribery ring.
The Whistleblower’s Gambit or a Con Artist’s Defense?
The controversy ignited when Mr. Adeyemi, parading as the Director-General of the PFIPC, held a press conference accusing Mr. Gbajabiamila of collecting a ₦400 million (approximately $260,000 USD) bribe through an intermediary to secure his appointment.
Adeyemi further alleged that the Chief of Staff demanded an additional ₦200 million and a staggering 48% cut of the agency’s ₦27.4 billion ($18 million USD) budgeted take-off grant.
According to Adeyemi, the agency is fully operational, featuring office spaces in the Federal Secretariat and verified Treasury Single Accounts (TSA) with the Central Bank of Nigeria.
He added a bizarre twist during a national television broadcast, admitting that the ₦400 million bribe was funded via high-interest loans, and that his lenders have since reported him to anti-graft agencies for failing to pay them back.
The Presidency moved swiftly to dismantle Adeyemi’s claims. In an official document from the State House, the administration characterized Adeyemi as a serial fraudster with a history of forging UN ambassador credentials.
The police subsequently hit Adeyemi with an eight-count charge of forgery and impersonation. When Adeyemi failed to appear in court, claiming deep fears for his life and seeking asylum in the United States, a federal judge ordered his immediate arrest. He was apprehended by police hours later in Osun State.
The heavy-handed state response drew immediate condemnation from opposition voices. Taking to social media platform X, activist Omoyele Sowore lambasted the Tinubu administration, framing Adeyemi’s arrest and reported “dehumanization” as an aggressive institutional cover-up.
”By now, President Tinubu’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, should also be under arrest and investigation if the authorities are truly committed to uncovering the facts,” Sowore stated.
Sowore highlighted key irregularities that have fueled public suspicion: the individual alleged to have acted as the intermediary for the ₦400 million transaction reportedly died under mysterious circumstances, and the hotel where the exchange allegedly took place has since been abruptly demolished.
”In addition to the real crimes, we are now witnessing obstruction of justice by the Tinubu criminal regime,” Sowore asserted, attaching his long-running campaign hashtag, #RevolutionNow.
The scandal has exposed massive vulnerabilities in Nigeria’s federal infrastructure. The critical question captivating the public is structural: if the PFIPC is entirely fictitious, how did it manage to be listed on pages 50 and 51 of the officially signed 2026 Nigerian National Appropriation Budget?
Critics argue that a lone con artist could not bypass the rigorous checks of the Budget Office, the National Assembly, and the Office of the Accountant-General without high-level complicity.
This is not the first time Gbajabiamila, the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, has faced integrity questions since stepping into the role of Chief of Staff, making him a prime target for public scrutiny.
Amid growing national outrage, President Tinubu ordered the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to probe the bribery allegations.
However, opposition groups express deep skepticism, demanding an independent panel comprised of international observers and civil society organizations to ensure the truth is not buried alongside the demolished hotel.
