The controversy surrounding the purported existence of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) has taken a fresh turn, as a physical signage directing visitors to the council’s office remains at the Federal Secretariat Complex housing the Federal Ministry of Health, despite the Presidency’s insistence that the agency does not exist.
A source familiar with the development told SaharaReporters on Monday that the directional signage is still mounted inside the ministry, pointing visitors to the office of the controversial council.
The discovery comes a week after the Presidency, through the Special Adviser Information and Strategy to President Bola Tinubu, distanced itself from the PFIPC following allegations made by the council’s purported Executive Secretary, Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi.
Adeyemi had accused Chief of Staff to President Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila, of allegedly demanding 48 per cent of the council’s take-off grant, which he claimed amounted to N27.4 billion.
He also alleged that Gbajabiamila received N400 million through a proxy to facilitate his appointment as Executive Secretary of the council, claiming that an outstanding balance of N200 million was yet to be paid.
Following the allegations, the Presidency denied the existence of the PFIPC and disassociated itself from the council and its activities.
However, documents from the 2026 Appropriation Act indicate that the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council received a budgetary allocation of N1.3 billion, further raising questions about the status of the agency.
Speaking to SaharaReporters on Monday, the source insisted that the council’s office remains identifiable within the Federal Ministry of Health.
“This signage is still there. It is on the floor of the Ministry of Health,” the source said.
The directional sign is painted in white and green, bearing the Nigerian Coat of Arms at the upper right-hand corner.
An arrow at the bottom of the sign points visitors toward the office where the council is located.
The inscription on the signage reads: “This way to office of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council, Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council.”
SaharaReporters had earlier reported that the Presidency dismissed the council as a fraudulent, non-existent agency, accusing Adeyemi of forging an appointment letter, illegally operating a fictitious presidential body, securing office space at the Federal Secretariat, and even opening a Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) account in the agency’s name.
However, in its rebuttal, the Presidency failed to explain how the name of this supposedly “non-existent” agency appeared in official government records, received a budgetary allocation approved by the National Assembly, and was ultimately assented to by President Tinubu.
Documents obtained by SaharaReporters reveal that the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council was allocated ₦1,302,978,784 in the 2026 Appropriation Act, which was signed into law by President Tinubu.
Meanwhile, Adeyemi has questioned how a supposedly non-existent agency found its way into official government documentation, obtained both a domiciliary account and a Treasury Single Account at the Central Bank of Nigeria, and eventually received a budgetary allocation approved by the National Assembly and signed into law by President Tinubu.
In a video obtained by SaharaReporters, Adeyemi said: “Where Chief of Staff to the President has meritoriously served for a good 20 years and rose from Minority Leader, Majority Leader and Speaker for four years, becoming the number four citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
He continued: “So the question becomes unavoidable. At what point in the process did reference to a non-existent agency allegedly enter the official record? And if they are indeed present in official documentation, what does that imply about the integrity of the process that produced and approved those documents?”
“For President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to assent his signature to a budget that includes a non-existent agency according to his Chief of Staff is an embarrassment to this hardworking government,” he added.