FEMI Falana SAN has weighed into the controversy between Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, Director-General of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council/Presidential Economic Advisory Council and Chief of Staff to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila
Falana holds that the Presidency was constitutionally incapable of finding Mr. Gbajabiamila “not guilty”. He suggests that the full weight of the anti-corruption agencies should be acted and permitted to function independently.
“The Presidency is not in a position to clear anybody. It is the duty of the police and anti-graft agencies to investigate cases of official corruption.
“The Presidency can only refer Femi Gbajabiamila, as well as the other individual, to the ICPC because allegations of fraud and corruption have been raised.”
Falana continued: “The government will have to explain to Nigerians how a whopping sum of N24bn was budgeted for an unknown agency, as well as how that agency had accounts with the Central Bank of Nigeria.”
Adeyemi, on Thursday, accused the Chief of Staff to the President, Gbajabiamila, of making contradictory statements regarding the existence of the PFIPC and the Presidential Economic Advisory Council.
He called for an independent investigation into the activities of the two agencies, while alleging that Gbajabiamila received N400m through a proxy and demanded an additional N200m to secure his appointment.
Adeyemi also alleged that the dispute between himself and the Chief of Staff stemmed from Gbajabiamila’s demand for 48 per cent of the PFIPC’s N27.4bn take-off grant, a request he said he (Adeyemi) rejected.
“The major rationale behind the disagreement between myself and the chief of staff is that he allegedly requested 48 per cent of the take-off grant (N27,395,510,136) from the same agency, which he denies, which I rejected after he collected a total sum of 400m by proxy, with a remaining balance of N200m to secure the said appointment,” Adeyemi explained.
Adeyemi revealed that he was compelled to speak following what he described as attempts to misrepresent him and suppress questions surrounding the agency.
He noted that if the PFIPC did not exist, as stated in Gbajabiamila’s disclaimer on June 11, the government should explain how references to the agencies allegedly appeared on pages 50 and 51 of the 2026 Appropriation Act.
He appealed to President Bola Tinubu to establish an independent investigative panel to examine the issues raised.
The panel, he prayed, should investigate the circumstances surrounding Tanimola’s death, review alleged assassination attempts against him, examine official documents connected with the disputed agencies, review budgetary references and institutional records, question relevant public officials and publish its findings transparently.
He also insisted that Gbajabiamila step aside during investigations.
Wednesday’s statement marked the second time since June 11 that the Presidency publicly distanced itself from Adeyemi.
The first disclaimer, signed by Gbajabiamila on that date, alerted the public, foreign missions, financial institutions and multilateral organisations that neither the council nor any appointment made under its name had any official standing under the Tinubu administration.
