By Barth Ikiebe
The Chief of Staff to the President, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, has threatened to institute a N10 billion defamation suit and criminal proceedings against the embattled Director General of the controversial Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew.
Gbajabiamila’s threat followed what he described as damaging and defamatory claims that he demanded 48 per cent of the alleged take-off grant of PFIPC and received N400 million through proxies in connection with appointments into the organisation among others.
However, the legal threat is with a caveat that Prince Adeniyi Matthew retracts and apologises via a widely circulated press conference within 72 hours, the defamatory charge, according to a demand conveyed in a cease-and-desist letter dated July 6, 2026 by his solicitors, Pinheiro LP, and signed by Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Kemi Pinheiro and made available to newsmen in Abuja on Tuesday.
The law firm said it was acting on the instructions of Gbajabiamila, whom it described as “one of Nigeria’s most accomplished public servants” whose reputation had been built over decades of public service as a lawyer, former Speaker of the House of Representatives and now Chief of Staff to the President.
According to the letter, the firm’s client’s attention had been drawn to a press conference addressed by Prince Matthew on June 25, 2026, which was subsequently circulated across print, electronic and social media platforms.
The law firm maintained that all the allegations were false and defamatory.
Meanwhile, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to conduct a thorough investigation into the activities of PFIPC and all related matters.
The President directed that the investigation be concluded and a comprehensive report submitted to him within 30 days.
The directive follows the discovery of the fictitious PFIPC, which was never established by the federal government and has no basis in any law, presidential instrument, executive approval, or other lawful act of Government.
Among the issues to be investigated by the ICPC are the forged appointment letters and other official government documents; the use of a false claim of presidential appointment to seek or obtain official recognition and diplomatic support, including visa facilitation; and the opening of multiple bank accounts in the names of purported government agencies using allegedly forged documents.
President Tinubu directed the ICPC to investigate not only the conduct of the principal individual and other collaborators involved but also the wider circumstances that may have enabled a fictitious body and a false claim of presidential appointment to acquire an appearance of official legitimacy.
The investigation is to examine the provenance and use of false official documents; the processes through which official recognition or diplomatic support may have been sought or obtained; the opening and operation of any related bank accounts; the source and movement of any funds involved; and the role of any public officer, private individual, financial institution, intermediary or other person or entity that may have facilitated, enabled or participated in the alleged scheme.
The President directed the Commission to identify any weaknesses in government and institutional procedures that may have been exploited and to recommend immediate measures to prevent the recurrence of similar abuses.
All ministries, departments and agencies of the federal government have been directed to provide the ICPC, upon lawful request, with all relevant information, records and assistance required for the expeditious completion of the investigation.
The President directed that all persons found culpable be treated strictly in accordance with applicable law.
