Nigeria’s deputy speaker, Benjamin Kalu, has revealed that he unknowingly hosted representatives of an alleged fictitious government agency after receiving what appeared to be official correspondence bearing the presidency’s insignia, as parliament opened an investigation into the scandal surrounding the body’s inclusion in the 2026 budget.
Speaking during Wednesday’s plenary session of the House of Representatives, Kalu said he had been among those deceived by the group, which presented itself as the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) — an organisation later disowned by the presidency.
“It is quite embarrassing that people have the kind of boldness exhibited, moving around with what is not in existence, carrying themselves as if they are a legal entity,” Kalu told lawmakers while backing a motion calling for a parliamentary investigation into the council’s activities.
The deputy speaker said his office received a letter dated 2 May 2025 bearing the presidency’s letterhead and signed by Adeniyi Adeyemi, who identified himself as director general of both the Presidential Economic Advisory Council and the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council.
Although aspects of the correspondence appeared questionable, Kalu said it contained details that gave it an air of authenticity, including an address at the Federal Secretariat Complex in Abuja and what appeared to be an official government website.
“It was a bit confusing for me. Some of the information looked credible, some did not,” he said.
Rather than dismiss the request outright, Kalu instructed members of his staff to verify the office location before agreeing to a meeting.
According to the deputy speaker, his team confirmed that the organisation operated from the address stated in the letter, prompting him to approve the engagement.
The visitors said they wished to discuss constitutional amendments, economic governance, legislative priorities and collaboration with the National Assembly to attract foreign investment.
But Kalu told lawmakers that the meeting quickly diverged from those stated objectives.
“When they came and started engaging, the issues they mentioned in the letter were not what they engaged on,” he said. “They did not talk about the Constitution that we were amending. They were more about photo taking.”
The experience, he said, illustrated how easily official government identities could be replicated.
“A beautiful letterhead that has the Presidency is no longer confirmation that an agency is legal,” Kalu said. “An address that shows Federal Secretariat does not mean that that particular agency is legal.”
He urged lawmakers to support the investigation, arguing that parliament had a constitutional responsibility to determine how the organisation had operated while presenting itself as a federal agency.
The controversy erupted after the council appeared as one of the beneficiaries in the 2026 Appropriation Act, despite the presidency insisting that no such agency exists within the federal government.
The inclusion raised questions over how an organisation later declared fictitious found its way into the national budget.
The presidency subsequently denied authorising the establishment of the council or appointing anyone to lead it.
In response, the president’s chief of staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, petitioned security agencies over the alleged impersonation of the presidency, triggering investigations by the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies.
The alleged head of the council was later arrested and charged with offences including forgery and impersonation, although he has denied wrongdoing and maintains that all documents in his possession were lawfully obtained.
As public scrutiny intensified, President Bola Tinubu directed the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission to investigate how the council was inserted into the 2026 budget despite lacking official recognition.
The president also ordered investigators to identify everyone responsible for the alleged budget insertion and ensure that anyone found culpable is prosecuted in accordance with the law.
