Presidency Dismisses Adeyemi’s Appointment Claim, Says Alleged DG Headed Fictitious Agency
The Presidency has dismissed claims by Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew that he was appointed Director-General of a Presidential Economic Advisory Council, insisting that the agency he claimed to head never existed and describing him as an impostor facing criminal prosecution.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President had, as far back as October 2025, alerted security agencies to the activities of individuals allegedly forging official appointment letters and operating under the guise of a non-existent Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, later also referred to as the Presidential Economic Advisory Council.
According to the statement, the Chief of Staff petitioned the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigeria Police after complaints emerged from the Nigerian Investment Promotion Council that another agency appeared to be operating in conflict with its statutory responsibilities.
The Presidency said investigations revealed that Adeyemi allegedly operated from an office at the Federal Secretariat Complex in Abuja, where he held meetings with diplomats, Nigerian officials and foreign nationals while presenting himself as a legitimate government appointee.
It added that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had also raised concerns after Adeyemi reportedly met with ambassadors without the ministry’s knowledge and sought a note verbale to facilitate United States visas for members of his purported agency.
The statement stressed that the Office of the Chief of Staff repeatedly denied issuing any appointment letter to Adeyemi, noting that appointments into government offices are the exclusive responsibility of the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
According to the Presidency, police arrested Adeyemi on October 27, 2025, in Abuja and recovered several documents during searches of his office and residence in Suleja.
Investigators allegedly established that the agency he claimed to head was fictitious and that appointment letters and other official documents in his possession had been forged.
The police also reportedly discovered that Adeyemi operated 34 bank accounts, including nine linked to fictitious agencies, and fraudulently opened a Central Bank of Nigeria account using forged documents.
However, the Presidency said no government funds were paid into the account.
Following the investigation, police filed an eight-count charge against Adeyemi and two alleged accomplices before the Federal High Court in Abuja on November 27, 2025, bordering on forgery, impersonation and obtaining by false pretence. The case is scheduled for hearing on July 27.
The Presidency noted that while on police bail, Adeyemi resurfaced with claims that the Chief of Staff had appointed him as Director-General, a position it said contradicted his earlier statement to investigators.
It maintained that the Chief of Staff’s recent disclaimer merely reaffirmed earlier official denials and urged politicians and members of the public to refrain from promoting Adeyemi’s claims, stressing that the matter is before the court and should be allowed to run its legal course.
The Presidency further alleged that Adeyemi had a history of false representation, recalling a 2016 incident in which he allegedly claimed to be an ambassador and President-General of the World Youth Organisation, an organisation the United Nations later denied having any affiliation with.
