…HoSF says office belonged to OSGF
The controversy surrounding the purported Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) intensified yesterday as its self-proclaimed Director-General, Prince Adeyemi Matthew Adeniyi, claimed he personally lobbied officials at the Budget Office to secure the agency’s inclusion in the federal budget.
Also, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HoSF), Mrs. Esther Walson-Jack, disclosed that the office occupied by the Council at the Federal Secretariat was officially allocated to the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF).
Adeniyi made the revelations during an interview with social media influencer Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, in a recording released after his arrest.
He denied allegations that President Bola Tinubu’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, influenced the council’s reported ₦1.3 billion budgetary allocation, insisting he independently approached senior officials at the Budget Office to seek the agency’s inclusion.
According to Adeniyi, he first visited the Budget Office in December 2024 to have the council captured in the 2025 Appropriation Bill but was informed that the process had already closed. He said officials advised him that the proposal would instead be considered for the 2026 Budget. He further alleged that a female official facilitated his access to the Budget Office leadership before he was referred to another director, who assured him that efforts would continue towards securing the council’s inclusion in the next budget cycle.
Adeniyi maintained that he did not pay bribes to any Budget Office official, saying the only inducement he offered was the promise of future employment opportunities if the agency became operational. He expressed surprise that the PFIPC eventually appeared in the budget after his arrest, claiming all efforts to pursue the proposal had ceased once he began facing criminal charges.
Adeniyi also addressed allegations that ₦400 million was paid to facilitate his appointment, claiming the money was delivered in U.S. dollars through his late associate, Dolapo Tanimola. However, he admitted he never personally met Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila before or after his purported appointment, insisting Tanimola handled all interactions.
Meanwhile, appearing before the House of Representatives ad-hoc committee investigating the PFIPC saga and the ₦1.3 billion allocation in the 2026 Appropriation Act, Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HoCSF), Esther Walson-Jack, stated that the office space occupied by the council at the Federal Secretariat in Abuja was never assigned to the PFIPC.
She told lawmakers that the office had officially been allocated to the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF), further raising questions over how the purported agency operated from the premises despite lacking official recognition.
The House committee is continuing its investigation into the circumstances surrounding the controversial budget allocation and the operations of the purported Council.
