***Oyo Police Command says FCID, Force Headquarters, Abuja, effected arrest
***Residents confirm arrest
***PFIPC has no CBN account, OAGF clarifies
By Emma Ujah, Abuja Bureau Chief & Adeola Badru
IBADAN—The Police have arrested the father and family friend of embattled Director-General of the purported Presidential Economic Advisory Council/Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, PFIPC, Adeyemi Adeniyi, in Osogbo, Oyo State.
Recall that Adeniyi had gone into hiding, following revelations that he had allegedly scammed the Federal Government through the creation of a fake presidential council.
The arrest came on a day Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, OAGF, clarified that no Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, account was successfully opened for the controversial council, insisting that no public funds had been released to the body, despite its budgetary allocation, contrary to the position of presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga.
No legal basisfor substituted arrests, says Falana
Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, who disclosed news of the arrest in a telephone conversation with journalists yesterday, said police operatives stormed the family’s residence and arrested Adeyemi’s father alongside a family friend who was visiting the home.
“Police have now stormed the house of the parents of Prince Adeyemi Adeniyi, Plot 3, Adeniyi Dynasty, behind Technical College, Road Safety Area, Ogbomoso.
“The father has been arrested. There is no legal basis for substituted arrests. The young man has promised to show up in court, so why arrest his father?” Falana queried.
Residents in the neighbourhood also confirmed the incident.
One resident, who asked not to be named, said the officers arrived in four vehicles before taking Adeyemi’s father away.
“They came in four vehicles, and started harassing them and eventually took the father away. They didn’t allow the neighbours to intervene before they took him away. At the moment, there is a man in blue clothes patrolling the area,” the resident said.
Another resident, who also preferred anonymity, said Adeyemi’s father was arrested alongside a visitor, while his mother was left in shock.
“Baba was taken away with someone who came to visit them this morning (yesterday). They left the mother, who is currently in shock, but we have moved her away,” the resident said.
The development comes amid controversy surrounding the purported PFIPC, which the presidency has described as a fictitious agency.
Adeyemi is facing charges bordering on alleged forgery, impersonation and related offences over his purported appointment as director-general of the council, and the case is currently before a Federal High Court in Abuja.
Falana has repeatedly argued that issues surrounding the alleged PFIPC should be resolved through due process, maintaining that only the courts have the constitutional authority to determine criminal liability.
It’s outside my jurisdiction— Oyo CP
When contacted the spokesperson of the Oyo Police Command, DSP Ayanlade Olayinka, he said: “The case involving Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew is a matter of national interest and is currently under investigation by the Force Criminal Investigation Department, FCID, Force Headquarters, Abuja.
‘’As such, it falls outside my jurisdiction. Consequently, anyone seeking updates regarding the alleged arrest of his parents in Ogbomoso or any other developments in the case is kindly advised to contact the Force Public Relations Officer, FPRO, Force Headquarters, Abuja, or the FCID Liaison Public Relations Officer for accurate and official information.”
PFIPC has no CBN account, OAGF clarifies
Meanwhile, the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, OAGF, yesterday disowned the claim that the disputed PFIPC opened an account with the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN.
While responding to claims made by Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, the self-acclaimed Director-General of the PFIPC, the Presidency had said Adeyemi misled OAGF and opened a CBN account.
“The Police found that Adeyemi, using the fake documents he created, fraudulently opened a CBN account by misleading the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.
“According to the police, no government money has been transferred into the account,” Bayo Onanuga, Presidential spokesman, had said in a statement, which exonerated Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff to the President, of any wrongdoing in the saga.
But stating its side of the matter, the OAGF said the council never completed the process required to operate a Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, account.
He said that made it impossible for any government allocation to be paid into its coffers.
Director of Public Relations at the OAGF, Bawa Mokwa, who disclosed this, said an application to open the account was initiated after the council’s convener, Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, presented “an appointment letter” linked to an existing government agency.
He, however, said the process stalled because the names of authorised signatories were never submitted, preventing the account from becoming operational.
“The account has not seen the light of day. It has not received one kobo because it was never fully activated. The Accountant-General has not released any money because there is no operational account for such payment,” Mokwa said.
He added that while the council has a budgetary allocation, the existence of a provision in the Appropriation Act didn’t automatically translate into the release of funds.
Mokwa also dismissed claims that salaries had been paid to staff of the council, explaining that federal agencies could not recruit personnel or process salary payments without obtaining approvals from the Federal Character Commission, the Budget Office and the Federal Civil Service Commission before workers are enrolled on the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System.
“If an agency is granted a waiver to recruit, it must still obtain approvals from the relevant agencies before presenting staff details to the Accountant-General. Without those approvals, not even one employee can be captured on the payroll,” he said.
According to him, none of the statutory conditions has been fulfilled by the PFIPC.
Mokwa insisted that the council had neither an operational CBN account nor an approved payroll through which government funds or salaries could have been disbursed.
Mr. Mokwa also said that though Adeyemi did not employ any staff other than those deployed from the OAGF, those officers would now become prosecution witnesses.
The Presidential Economic Advisory Council/Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council was allocated N1,302,978,784 in the Federal Government’s 2026 budget. The allocation comprised N802,978,783 for personnel costs; N 200,000,001 for overhead expenditure; and N 300,000,000 for capital projects.
Recall that the controversy surrounding PFIPC first reared its head after the Presidency disowned the body, insisting that no such agency existed under President Bola Tinubu’s administration, and warned Nigerians against dealing with individuals claiming to represent it.
The Presidency subsequently said Adeyemi, who had presented himself as Director-General of the council, is standing trial on charges bordering on alleged forgery, impersonation and related offences.
According to the Presidency, the matter was uncovered in October 2025 after the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission, NIPC, raised concerns that the purported council was carrying out functions similar to those of the commission.
The Office of the Chief of Staff to the President, thereafter, petitioned security agencies, alleging that appointment letters, official documents and other materials purportedly issued by the Presidency had been forged.
Investigators were said to have recovered documents during searches conducted after Adeyemi’s arrest, while government maintained that the PFIPC was never legally created.
The issue, however, took a fresh twist after the 2026 Appropriation Act listed the Presidential Economic Advisory Council/Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council under the Presidency with a budgetary allocation of about N1.3 billion for personnel, overhead and capital expenditure.
The inclusion triggered widespread questions from opposition figures, legal experts and civil society groups, who argued that the budgetary provision appeared inconsistent with the Presidency’s insistence that the council is fictitious.
The development has since shifted public attention beyond the criminal allegations against Adeyemi to broader concerns over Nigeria’s budgeting and administrative processes, with opposition leaders, including former vice-president, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, and his Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, counterpart, Peter Obi, calling for institution of an independent panel to probe the incident.
