By Our Reporter
The embattled Director-General of the controversial Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, has defended the establishment of the now-disowned agency, insisting it was driven by patriotism and a desire to attract foreign investment to Nigeria rather than personal gain.
Speaking during a video call with social media activist Martins Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, on Wednesday, Matthew said the council was conceived to promote Nigeria as a preferred investment destination and support the economic agenda of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
He also denied any involvement in the controversial inclusion of the council in the 2026 Appropriation Act, claiming he neither prepared nor defended any budget for the agency.
According to him, his efforts were motivated solely by a desire to serve the country.
“I established that amount for the agency’s office out of passion for the country. I wanted to bring in foreign investors to Nigeria so that I can write my name in gold. I am just desperate to serve,” he said.
Matthew dismissed reports suggesting he personally benefited from the council, insisting its mission was to strengthen Nigeria’s global investment profile.
“That agency was established to bring in foreign investments to Nigeria and make Nigeria a preferred destination for foreign investors. I worked with ministries, departments and agencies as well as the EFCC to promote investment.
“Before this whole controversy, we were preparing for a global summit that would have attracted investors from around the world,” he added.
Questioning the Presidency’s position that the council never existed, Matthew described the situation as contradictory, noting that the agency received an allocation in the 2026 national budget.
He claimed he was in police detention for 23 days while the budget was being prepared and defended before the National Assembly between October and November 2025.
“The Presidency said the agency does not exist. How then did it find its way into the national budget? I didn’t prepare any budget. I was in detention throughout the period the budget was being processed,” he said.
Matthew further disclosed that former Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, invited him to explain how he obtained his appointment letter, adding that he provided investigators with the identity and contact of the individual who allegedly facilitated the appointment before he was detained.
He said that by the time he regained freedom on November 19, 2025, he had already been charged to court, while the office allocated to the council had reportedly been reassigned.
Addressing allegations involving the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, Matthew denied personally meeting him over the matter but admitted speaking with him on the telephone through his late associate, Dolapo Tanimola.
He maintained that he possesses documents supporting the establishment of the council and pledged to submit them to security agencies.
“Any moment from now, I will go to the police and DSS to submit every document that I have to support the investigation. My friend, Tanimola, who paid the money for the establishment of the agency, died in a fire incident at a hotel in Utako, Abuja,” he said.
The Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council became the subject of nationwide controversy after it emerged as one of the beneficiaries in the 2026 Appropriation Act despite the Presidency insisting that no such agency existed under the Federal Government.
The development triggered widespread criticism and raised questions over how an agency later disowned by the Presidency secured a budget allocation.
The Presidency subsequently distanced itself from the council, maintaining that President Bola Tinubu neither approved its creation nor appointed anyone to head it.
Following the controversy, the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, petitioned security agencies over the alleged impersonation of the Presidency and the use of purported government documents linked to the council.
Matthew was later arrested and detained by the Nigeria Police Force before being arraigned on charges bordering on forgery, impersonation and related offences.
He has consistently denied the allegations, insisting that all documents in his possession were lawfully obtained.
Amid growing public outrage, President Tinubu directed the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate how the council was inserted into the 2026 Appropriation Act despite not being recognised by the Federal Government.
The President also ordered that all those found culpable in the alleged budget insertion be identified and prosecuted in accordance with the law, while directing relevant authorities to unravel the circumstances surrounding the controversial allocation.
