The Resource Centre for Human Rights and Civic Education, CHRICED, has called for an independent investigation into the controversy surrounding the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, PFIPC, and demanded the immediate suspension of the Chief of Staff to the President, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, pending the outcome of the probe.
In a statement issued on Sunday by its Executive Director, Comrade Ibrahim M. Zikirullahi, CHRICED said the allegations surrounding the PFIPC had raised serious concerns about transparency, accountability, and governance in the country.
The organisation was reacting to allegations by the disclaimed Director-General of the PFIPC, Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, who insisted that he was lawfully appointed to head the council.
Adeyemi, who is currently facing prosecution for alleged impersonation and forgery, has vowed to face trial, saying “If I’m wrong, let the court of law say so, and if I’m right, let the court do the right thing”.
The Presidency, through a disclaimer dated June 11 and signed by Gbajabiamila, stated that the PFIPC “does not exist under this administration and no appointment has been made in that regard”. The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, also described both the PFIPC and the Presidential Economic Advisory Council as “fictitious”.
However, questions have persisted after a search of the Budget Office’s published 2026 Appropriation Bill listed an entity described as “Presidential Economic Advisory Council/Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council” with code 0111062001 and a total allocation of ₦1.303 billion.
Civil society groups and opposition parties have intensified calls for clarity. The Accountability Response Group of Nigeria, ARGN, pointed directly to pages 50 and 51 of the 2026 budget where the PFIPC was captured as a funded line item, describing Gbajabiamila’s denial as “an affront to the collective intelligence of the Nigerian people”.
The Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, has also called for Gbajabiamila’s immediate removal to allow for an independent investigation. The party cited allegations that the PFIPC operated a domiciliary account, a pounds sterling account, and a Treasury Single Account with the CBN, and that the Office of the Head of Civil Service approved 314 staff positions for the purported agency.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has similarly demanded “a truly independent investigation that follows the evidence wherever it leads. No sacred cows. No political protection. No selective justice”.
CHRICED said the controversy has exposed possible weaknesses in Nigeria’s institutional checks and called on relevant authorities including the EFCC, ICPC, and the Police to probe the matter transparently.
The case involving Adeyemi and two others is scheduled for hearing at the Federal High Court on July 27.
