Mr Adeyemi had previously accused Mr Gbajabiamila of issuing him the appointment letter, and that the president’s Chief of Staff only disowned him after he refused to yield to extraordinary demands.
The controversial Director-General of the disowned Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), Adeniyi Adeyemi, has softened his earlier position on the alleged involvement of the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, in issuing him the ‘appointment letter’ for the now-disowned agency.
Speaking with social media influencer and activist Martins Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, Mr Adeyemi said he could not say for certain whether Mr Gbajabiamila was involved or not.
According to him, he spoke with Mr Gbajabiamila on the phone through the late Dolapo Tanimola, whom he claimed helped him get the appointment letter, but couldn’t confirm if it was indeed the president’s chief of staff he spoke to.
Mr Tanimola reportedly died on admission at the National Hospital on 22 October 2025, following a fire incident at Kachi Hotel in Abuja, the police investigation report said.
Mr Adeyemi had previously accused Mr Gbajabiamila of issuing him the appointment later. He had said the president’s Chief of Staff only disclaimed him after he refused to yield to extraordinary demands.
He also claimed to have paid Mr Gbajabiamila N400 million through a proxy and that they fell out when he demanded an additional N200 million.
Mr Adeyemi had also alleged that Mr Gbajabiamila demanded 48 per cent of the PFIPC’s N27.4 billion take-off grant, a request he said he rejected.
On Tuesday, Mr Gbajabiamila threatened a N10 billion defamation suit against Mr Adeyemi over the allegations.
When Mr Otse questioned Mr Adeyemi about his relationship with Mr Gbajabiamila, he said they had never met in person.
He, however, said he had spoken to someone he believed to be the Chief of Staff on three occasions through his late associate, Mr Tanimola.
He, however, declined to accuse Mr Gbajabiamila of dishonesty. Instead, he called for an independent investigation into the matter.
When asked whether he believed Mr Gbajabiamila was lying about his knowledge of the agency, Mr Adeyemi said: “I wouldn’t say he is lying, and I wouldn’t say he is telling the truth. That is why I requested… if you saw it from my press conference, I said I plead with Mr President to set up an investigative panel to look into this whole issue and unravel the truth, so we would know who are (those) involved.”
Mr Adeyemi also pledged to cooperate with investigators by submitting documents in his possession.
He, however, maintained that he paid N400 million to secure the appointment letter.
He also said he wanted the position not for personal gain but out of a passion to help move the country forward.
“I don’t really have negative plans. It is all about passion for the country. That agency is to bring in foreign investments to Nigeria. I want to write my name in gold,” he said.
Mr Adeyemi said his objective was to help make Nigeria “a preferred destination for investment” and that he had met with several stakeholders, including the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), to achieve this.
Mr Adeyemi also pledged to cooperate with investigators by submitting documents in his possession.
“I am willing and ready to help security agencies or a panel set up by Mr President to unravel the truth,” he said.
“In fact, any moment from now, I will go to the DSS or police to submit all the documents I have. It would help them to investigate and look into this matter.”
Mr Adeyemi is also being prosecuted by the police for fraud over the scandal.
On Tuesday, President Bola Tinubu asked the ICPC to investigate the scandal and submit a report to him in 30 days.
