A contractor, Gbenga Collins, has told the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee investigating the alleged Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) that he paid N400 million to its purported Director-General, Adeniyi Adeyemi, after being promised a contract to renovate and furnish an official residence.
Collins, Managing Director of Divine Dopacy Nigeria Limited, said he believed PFIPC was a legitimate Federal Government agency because Adeyemi operated from an office at the Federal Secretariat in Abuja, travelled in official vehicles with government number plates, and was accompanied by security personnel.
Addressing lawmakers on Tuesday, Collins said he first met Adeyemi in Ogbomoso in December 2024 before being invited to Abuja in early 2025. He said an official vehicle picked him up from the airport and took him to what appeared to be a government office, where he met security officers and several prominent visitors.
According to Collins, Adeyemi identified himself as the Director-General of both the Presidential Economic Advisory Council and the PFIPC. He said Adeyemi later took him to inspect a residence he claimed had been allocated to him as an official residence and requested his company to handle its renovation and furnishing.
Collins told the committee that in April 2025, Adeyemi presented him with what he described as a contract award letter, scope of work and an agreement. He alleged that he was instructed to pay N400 million to demonstrate his company’s financial capacity and facilitate mobilisation for the project.
He said N380 million was paid in four instalments between May and June 2025 into a Guaranty Trust Bank account belonging to World Entrepreneurs Limited, while the remaining N20 million was transferred on July 29, 2025, into an Access Bank account belonging to Sunshine Confectionery and Catering Services.
Collins said Adeyemi repeatedly assured him that mobilisation would begin in August 2025, but the promised payment never came. After months of delays and repeated explanations, he consulted a lawyer, who advised him that he had likely been defrauded.
The businessman said a petition was subsequently filed with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in November 2025. According to him, investigators informed him that Adeyemi had failed to honour several invitations from the anti-graft agency, allegedly citing ill health through his lawyer.
Appealing to the lawmakers, Collins said the incident had crippled his business and forced him to sell personal assets to meet financial obligations. He maintained that he acted in good faith because everything about Adeyemi’s operations suggested he was dealing with a genuine government official.
Committee Chairman Yusuf Gagdi questioned whether the N400 million constituted a bribe to secure the contract, but Collins denied the allegation, insisting the payment was presented as a condition for contract facilitation and mobilisation. Gagdi also disclosed that Adeyemi would be questioned at a later date to avoid interfering with ongoing investigations by the EFCC, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
