The former national chairman of Nigeria’s Labour Party, Julius Abure, and the former communications minister Adebayo Shittu have denied any connection with the late Dolapo Tanimola, whose name has emerged in an investigation into an alleged fake government agency that purported to operate under the presidency.
The denials came after photographs surfaced showing Tanimola alongside Abure, Shittu and several prominent political, business and security figures, prompting renewed public scrutiny of the so-called Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), an organisation the presidency says never existed.
Tanimola entered the spotlight after presidential officials identified him as the individual whom the alleged architect of the scheme, Adeniyi Adeyemi, reportedly told investigators had assisted him in obtaining a disputed appointment letter naming him director-general of the fictitious council.
The presidency has said Tanimola died in a fire at the Kachi Hotel in Abuja’s Utako district on 22 October 2025, five days before Adeyemi’s arrest. His death has intensified speculation over his role in a case that has exposed alleged forgery of official government documents and raised questions about access to influential figures.
Responding to the controversy, Abure dismissed suggestions that the existence of a photograph established any relationship between him and the deceased.
Speaking through his spokesman, Obiora Ifoh, he said the image appeared to have been taken many years ago and that the former Labour Party chairman had no recollection of meeting Tanimola.
“If you look at the photograph in question, you will discover that it is very old; so old that even Abure himself can’t remember where it was taken,” Ifoh said.
He argued that, as a prominent political figure, Abure had received hundreds of visitors over the years, making it impossible to remember every individual who had posed for photographs with him.
Drawing a comparison with Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi, Ifoh said public figures routinely take photographs with strangers, adding that “there is no relationship between the two.”
Shittu also rejected any suggestion that he knew Tanimola.
The former minister initially said he could not recognise the name and requested that the photograph be sent to him. After reviewing the image, he maintained that he had never met the deceased.
“He is not a familiar face,” Shittu said. “In fact, I am just seeing the so-called picture for the first time. But how and where it emanated from is what I can’t understand.”
The photographs, first published by Daily Trust, show Tanimola at various events with a wide range of senior public figures, including former president Goodluck Jonathan, former head of state Yakubu Gowon, billionaire businessmen Tony Elumelu and Abdulsamad Rabiu, former inspectors-general of police Mike Okiro, Solomon Arase and Kayode Egbetokun, philanthropist Arthur Eze, Lagos deputy governor Obafemi Hamzat and New Nigeria People’s Party leader Rabiu Kwankwaso.
The images do not, in themselves, establish any relationship between Tanimola and those pictured or suggest they had knowledge of the activities now under investigation. Their publication has nevertheless heightened public curiosity about the late businessman and the extent of his access to Nigeria’s political and business elite.
President Bola Tinubu this week directed the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the alleged activities of the fictitious council and submit its findings within 30 days.
According to the presidency, investigators are examining claims that forged appointment letters and other official government documents were used by Adeyemi, who allegedly presented himself as director-general of the non-existent council while falsely claiming presidential backing.
The inquiry is also examining allegations that he used the purported appointment to seek official recognition and diplomatic assistance, including visa facilitation, and opened multiple bank accounts in the names of purported government agencies using forged documentation.
The investigation has become an embarrassment for the government, raising fresh questions about the misuse of official insignia, the circulation of forged presidential documents and the ease with which individuals may have sought to exploit the appearance of state authority. Whether the ongoing inquiry uncovers a wider network or an elaborate individual fraud is likely to shape the political fallout in the weeks ahead.
