Tinubu Orders Inquiry Into N1.3 Billion Fake Agency as Nigeria's N68 Trillion Budget Faces Scrutiny
Updated
Updated · Financial Times · Aug 9
Tinubu Orders Inquiry Into N1.3 Billion Fake Agency as Nigeria's N68 Trillion Budget Faces Scrutiny
3 articles · Updated · Financial Times · Aug 9
Summary
Nigeria's presidency opened an inquiry after a non-existent body, the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, was found in the 2026 budget with a N1.3 billion allocation and claims on a further N27.3 billion take-off grant.
Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, accused of running the fake agency, is due in court next month on forgery and impersonation charges, which he denies after allegedly holding meetings and events in the president's name.
The case has widened into a test of state oversight because the agency had an Abuja office, a government-domain website and public activity, even though the foreign ministry and the Nigerian Investment Promotion Council reportedly raised alarms last year.
Critics say the scandal exposes deeper flaws in Tinubu's administration and parliament's budget review, arguing lawmakers barely scrutinized the 2,604-page, N68 trillion 2026 budget signed on April 17.
The affair has also drawn in chief of staff Femi Gbajabiamila, who denies Adeyemi's claim that he took N400 million for the appointment and has filed a N15 billion defamation suit.