The Presidency has called on security agencies to uncover internal collaborators in the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council scandal. It said these collaborators enabled Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi to operate a fictitious government agency.

The Presidency made the call on Friday in a statement issued by Temitope Ajayi, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity.

Mr Ajayi said the alleged cartel that aided Adeniyi must be unravelled. The  security agencies must act.

“What is not in doubt is that internal collaborators enabled Adeniyi to get this far. That is precisely what investigators from the DSS, the Police, and the EFCC must now unravel,” he stated.

He added: “The criminal network within the affected institutions must be dismantled, and everyone found to have played a role should be arrested and prosecuted.”

Internal Collaborators

The Presidency alleged that there are internal collaborators. These collaborators, it said, enabled Prince Adeniyi. They helped him in his smear campaign. The target of that campaign is Femi Gbajabiamila. He is the Chief of Staff to the President.

 

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The Presidency did not name any specific collaborators. It did not say which institutions they belong to. But it insisted they exist. It said they must be found and prosecuted.

 

‘Irredeemable Con Artist’

Mr Ajayi did not hold back in his description of Prince Adeniyi. He called him an irredeemable con artist. He accused him of exploiting Nigerian public psychology.

“In Nigeria, the easiest and most believable allegation anyone can throw at a public officer is corruption. Once that accusation is thrown into the mix, the water is polluted, the lines are blurred, and everyone is kept busy arguing over distractions rather than the real issues,” Mr Ajayi said.

He added: “Matthew Adeniyi understands Nigerian public psychology, and he is exploiting it expertly to shield himself. He is an irredeemable con artist who is attempting to drag the name of the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, into his criminal enterprise. The Chief of Staff is simply his last straw.”

 

What Investigators Must Do

Mr Ajayi outlined the task ahead for security agencies. He said investigators must unveil the collaboration that allowed Adeniyi to operate.

He listed the alleged offences. Adeniyi allegedly forged presidential appointment letters. He allegedly maintained 34 bank accounts. These accounts were in the names of fictitious government bodies.

He allegedly hosted foreign ambassadors. He allegedly opened a Central Bank account. All this happened while he paraded himself as the director-general of a non-existent body. That body is the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council.

The Presidency wants every layer of this alleged operation exposed. It wants all collaborators arrested. It wants the criminal network dismantled.

 

This is the latest development in the PFIPC scandal. The controversy has dominated headlines for weeks.

Prince Adeniyi has made serious allegations against Mr Gbajabiamila. He accused the Chief of Staff of demanding N27.4 billion. He claimed this represented 48 per cent of the agency’s take-off grant. He also alleged that N400 million was paid through proxies.

Mr Gbajabiamila has denied the allegations. The Presidency has described the agency as non-existent. Prince Adeniyi is currently facing prosecution before the Federal High Court in Abuja.

The charges include conspiracy, forgery, and impersonation.

 

**Neither the EFCC, DSS, nor the Police have issued statements on the Presidency’s latest call as at the time of filing this report.**