Multiple reports have revealed that the Federal Government approved the recruitment of 300 staff members for the controversial Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) in August 2025, despite later declaring the agency fictitious.

The 'agency', according to reports, also had budgetary allocation during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari and later during the present administration.

According to a report published by The Cable, the approval for the recruitment of 300 staff was conveyed in a letter dated August 7, 2025, signed by Mimi Abu, Director of Organisation Design and Development in the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation. 

The letter granted the council a waiver to recruit 300 personnel, as the Federal Government had placed an embargo on general civil service recruitment.

The approved positions, according to the report, included 10 directors, 20 assistant directors, 44 administrative officers, 45 planning officers, 32 commercial officers, 22 investment promotion officers, 26 accountants and 10 legal officers. 

Other were procurement officers, statisticians, programme analysts, information officers, executive officers, data processing staff, confidential secretaries, technical officers and drivers.

The approval was subject to obtaining clearance from the Budget Office of the Federation, compliance with the Federal Character principle, and the reservation of five per cent of the positions for persons living with disabilities.

According to TheCable, a day after the approval letter was issued, Adeniyi Adeyemi, who presented himself as Director-General of the PFIPC, publicly thanked President Bola Tinubu for approving the recruitment waiver.

He also claimed the agency had received approval to establish offices in all 36 states and 127 international offices.

The council, according to data from the budget Office of the federation, also received public funds under the Buhari administration.

Govspend records show payments in 2022 to the tune of N1.1b to an entity described as the Presidential Economic Advisory Council/Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council.

The council was also allocated about N1.3 billion in the 2026 budget.

According to a 2026 Appropriate Bill details, the agency was allocated the said amount to cover both overhead and personnel.

According to TheCable, the Council also operated from the Federal Secretariat and exchanged correspondence with several government agencies.

On June 11, 2026, the Presidency, through Chief of Staff to the President Femi Gbajabiamila, disowned the PFIPC, describing it as a non-existent agency. 

Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga later stated that Adeyemi had been under police investigation and was facing an eight-count criminal charge over alleged forgery, impersonation and obtaining by false pretence.

However, the report noted that before the Presidency's disclaimer, the council had operated from an office within the Federal Secretariat in Abuja, maintained official correspondence with several government institutions and engaged with diplomats and government officials. 

The report also highlighted that the agency operated a Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) account and exchanged official correspondence with government institutions, including the National Assembly and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), before it was eventually declared fictitious by the Presidency.

Adeyemi has consistently denied wrongdoing, alleging that the dispute arose after he refused to surrender 48 per cent of the agency's take-off grant. 

He also claimed to have paid N400 million to secure his appointment, with an outstanding balance of N200 million.