The Presidency has directed the EFCC, DSS and Nigeria Police to track down officials within government who allegedly helped Adeyemi Adeniyi Matthew run a bogus agency.

In a statement on Friday, the President’s media aide, Temitope Ajayi, called Matthew an “irredeemable con artist.” He said Matthew floated two non-existent bodies the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council and Presidential Economic Advisory Council using fake documents.

Ajayi said investigators must not stop at Matthew, but expose everyone inside the system who made it possible for him to operate for months. 

According to police findings, Matthew allegedly forged appointment letters bearing presidential signatures and seals, opened 34 bank accounts for fake agencies, occupied an office at the Federal Secretariat, and even met with diplomats. He was picked up in Abuja on October 27, 2025 after the Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, petitioned security agencies.

The FG has charged Matthew and two others with eight counts of forgery, impersonation and fraud. Their trial comes up at the Federal High Court, Abuja on July 27, 2026.

The Presidency also dismissed claims linking Gbajabiamila to the scheme, saying the fraud was uncovered by the government itself after NIPC and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs raised red flags.

Questions have now grown over reports that the PFIPC was listed in the 2026 budget with over ₦1.3bn allocation, despite being described as non-existent.

Source: Channels Television, Vanguard, The Nation