The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has called for the immediate establishment of an independent Judicial Commission of Inquiry to investigate the unfolding controversy surrounding the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC).
​The opposition party made the demand in a strongly-worded statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, following a July 1 press release from the Presidency. In that release, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, labeled the PFIPC a “fictitious” organization and described its self-proclaimed Director-General, Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, as an impostor facing criminal forgery charges.
​However, the ADC argued that the Presidency’s defense raised far more questions than answers, exposing a “staggering depth of institutional decay” within the President Bola Tinubu-led administration.
​The ADC questioned how an allegedly fake agency could seamlessly operate across multiple federal arms if the government’s security and administrative networks were functioning properly.
​”By the presidency’s own account, a body it now describes as ‘fictitious’ allegedly managed to operate across multiple arms of the APC-led federal government, interfacing with ministries, corresponding with public institutions, engaging foreign diplomats, and obtaining official recognition from various quarters,” the statement read.
​The controversy intensified after it was revealed that the non-existent council, paired with the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC), allegedly appeared in the published details of the 2026 Appropriation Bill with a total budgetary allocation of ₦1.303 billion.
​The scandal has also drawn in high-ranking government officials. Adeniyi Adeyemi, who is currently out on police bail ahead of a scheduled court appearance on July 27, recently accused the Chief of Staff to the President, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, of corruption. Adeyemi claimed that Gbajabiamila demanded 48 percent of a ₦27.3 billion take-off grant and had already collected ₦400 million by proxy—allegations the Chief of Staff has vehemently denied.
​The ADC insisted that the administration’s narrow focus on clearing Gbajabiamila, rather than explaining the systemic failures that allowed the alleged scheme to thrive, suggests that the government is “either complicit or incompetent.”
​To ensure full accountability, the ADC identified 10 public institutions and offices that must be scrutinized by the proposed independent judicial panel. The party emphasized that the probe must have the power to summon witnesses and compel the production of documents.
​”This matter must not be swept under the presidential red carpet,” Abdullahi warned. “Only a truly independent judicial inquiry can establish the facts, identify those responsible, and restore public confidence in the integrity of our institutions.”
