The embattled Director General of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, has said he established the now-defunct agency out of a desire to improve Nigeria’s global image, attract foreign investment and support President Bola Tinubu’s administration, rather than for personal gain.
Matthew made the remarks during a video call with social media personality Martins Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, on Wednesday.
He also claimed he had no knowledge of the council’s inclusion in the 2026 national budget, saying he was in police custody while the budget was being prepared and defended before the National Assembly.
“I established that amount (rumoured N400 million) 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.
“That’s the reason I paid the money. I just want to do my part for the country. That agency was established to bring in foreign investments to Nigeria and make Nigeria a preferred destination for foreign investors.
“I walk around the inter-ministerial agencies and partner with the MDAs and EFCC to make Nigeria a preferred world destination for investments. So, it’s not about personal interest. Before this whole brouhaha, we were expecting the world to be in Nigeria through our forthcoming global summit,” he said.
Reacting to the Presidency’s denial that the agency exists, Matthew questioned how it was allocated funds in the national budget if it was not recognised.
“This whole thing is confusing especially when the Presidency said that the agency does not exist. How come? The agency that found its way into the national budget. I didn’t prepare any budget. In fact, I was in detention for 23 days when the budget for the Presidential Foreign Council was prepared and defended in the National Assembly between October and November.
“The former Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, had invited me to explain how I came about the agency from the Chief of Staff to the President. I gave him the name and number of the person that facilitated the appointment letter for me. I was thereafter detained.
“How come the budget that nobody defended still found its way into the national budget? By the time I came out on November 19, 2025, I was charged to court and they said the same office space had been reallocated to another government official. So I’ve not been going to the office since that October 27,” he said.
Matthew denied meeting with the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, 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 expressed readiness to hand them over to investigators.
“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, is now dead in a fire accident in a hotel in Utako, Abuja,” he said.
The Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council sparked controversy after it appeared as a beneficiary in the 2026 Appropriation Act despite the Presidency insisting that no such agency exists under the Federal Government.
Following the controversy, the Presidency disowned the council, while the Chief of Staff to the President petitioned security agencies over alleged impersonation and the use of purported government documents.
Matthew was later arrested and arraigned on charges bordering on forgery, impersonation and related offences, although he has consistently maintained his innocence.
President Tinubu subsequently directed the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission to investigate how the council was included in the 2026 Appropriation Act and ordered that anyone found culpable be prosecuted in accordance with the law.