The unfolding controversy surrounding the alleged fake Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) is a reflection of the pattern of misgovernance, personalization of leadership, corruption, and administrative impropriety that defined Bola Ahmed Tinubu led government for the past three years.

It is disgusting to note that millions of Nigerians are being crushed by inflation, mass unemployment, starvation wages, poor public services and this has made their lives miserable in comparison with that of the ruling class living in opulence.

More worrisome are the cases of thousands of people being killed, displaced from their homelands, kidnapped, and forced to pay ransom to earn their freedom as victims of insecurity across the country.

All of these matter less to this government. The government is far more concerned about retaining itself in office by all means possible and how to meet the looting needs of the ruling class, party members and cronies at the expense of the majority of Nigerian population who are made to live below poverty line.

The issues involved in the scam are  revealed by what the two parties to the conflict have put out to the public domain on the matter. Adeniyi Adeyemi alleged that the Chief of Staff to the President, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, facilitated his appointment of the Director General of the alleged fake agency. Such appointment was not without pecuniary interest as Adeniyi Adeyemi claimed to have paid the sum of ₦400 million out of ₦600 million agreed upon to procure his appointment letter.  The role of Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi cannot be absolved from blame as an accomplice in the whole matter. His innocence can only be revealed by the independent panel of enquiry that needs to be put in place to unravel the matters involved in the scam.

Adeniyi Adeyemi claims that the agency is not fake. If this is true, it means that the agency was a conscious act on the part of the government, put in place to enhance the primitive accumulation of capital by people in power and to scam the country. The agency, Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, from all indications has been functioning for the past two years as the activities of its Director General have revealed. This is also confirmed by the recognition and paraphernalia of office accorded it by the presidency and other influential high ranking government establishments such as the National Assembly, Finance Department, Central Bank of Nigeria, Accountant General Office, and Secretary to the Government of the Federation. For the full backing accorded the agency, it was captured by the 2026 annual budget and allocated ₦1.303 billion.

The question to ask is, at what time does it occur to the state that the Agency is fake and its Director General an impostor? We can get an answer to this by the statement issued by the Director General. Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi alleges that the Chief of Staff to the President picked a quarrel with him upon his refusal to yield to his demand for 48 percent of the Agency’s take-off grant put at ₦27.4 billion. The disagreement between the two parties could not be resolved, leading to the denial of the agency by the Chief of Staff.

It would be difficult to believe that the agency is fake and never in existence. Contrarily, the agency has been confirmed as one of the ad hoc agencies put in place by the presidential order of the past government but not effectively instituted. So, the attempt to institutionalize the agency through the back door under the present government constitutes the albatross of the whole matter. Under normal circumstances, the whole idea of the agency and other related matters to it are to be under the purview and responsibilities of the Secretary of the Government of the Federation. These are of no concern to the Chief of Staff to the President. The scam, therefore, also exposes how dysfunctional this government is in sidelining the extant SGF, whose role and function are being usurped by the personal staff of the president.

It would be foolhardy to accept the narrative coming from the government quarters in dismissing this scandal with a wave of hand. Nigerians deserve facts, not propaganda. Every kobo of public money must be accounted for. Those who wield state power must not be allowed to hide behind official titles while serious questions remain unanswered.

Socialist Labour demands the immediate publication of all documents relating to the establishment, funding, staffing,  and operations of the alleged agency. We equally demand a forensic, independent,  and public investigation into the entire affair. Pending the outcome of such investigations, every senior public official whose office is alleged to have played a role in the approval, funding or administration of the agency—including the Chief of Staff to the President, -should step aside or be suspended to prevent interference with any investigation.

Comrade Biodun Olamosu

General Secretary

Socialist Labour