Gbajabiamila cleared as Reps probe purported foreign intervention council
The House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee investigating the purported Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council has cleared the Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila, of involvement in the organisation’s activities. Committee Chairman, Yusuf Gagdi, disclosed this on Wednesday while presenting the panel’s preliminary findings at a press briefing. The committee said it found no evidence that Gbajabiamila authorised, approved, established or participated in the council’s activities. Instead, it said he alerted security and investigative agencies after concerns about the organisation were raised by the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission over suspected fraudulent activities and alleged misuse of institutional materials. According to the panel, Gbajabiamila responded within a day by contacting the Nigeria Police Force, the Office of the National Security Adviser, the Department of State Services and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, while also directing administrative verification through relevant government institutions. The committee said he later sought further investigations and appropriate action when additional concerns emerged, including those surrounding a proposed world investment summit. It therefore commended him, on a preliminary basis, for the security and administrative measures he took whenever the matter was brought to his attention.
The committee also found that a letter purportedly appointing Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi as Director-General of the organisation was forged and falsely attributed to the Presidency. It said State House records showed that Gbajabiamila neither issued nor signed the letter, while the letterhead was not authentic and its reference number did not conform to the official system. The panel further rejected documents presented as a Presidential Executive Order and an Act of the National Assembly establishing the organisation. It said the document described as Executive Order No. 5, dated February 24, 2026, was neither issued nor approved through lawful presidential processes, while the purported Act was never passed by both chambers, assented to by the President or gazetted. The lawmakers said part of an instrument belonging to another institution appeared to have been electronically altered, mutilated or substituted to create the impression that the National Assembly established the council. The committee concluded that no valid law, executive order, administrative instrument or other lawful authority established the purported council. It also said preliminary financial information linked about 58 bank accounts to identifying details associated with Adeyemi. The controversy began after the purported council appeared in the 2026 Federal Government budget, with Adeyemi presenting himself as its Director-General and allegedly claiming he was appointed by Gbajabiamila. As the probe deepened, the ICPC also uncovered another alleged fake government agency, the National Brands Development and Made-in-Nigeria Special Project Office.
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