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The Director-General of the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council, PFIPC, Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, has written to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, asking for an independent probe into the alleged ₦1.3 billion scandal linked to the council.
In the open letter dated July 13, 2026, Adeyemi said he supports the President’s directive to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, but warned that an internal investigation alone will not be enough to earn public trust.
Adeyemi said he was not writing to evade accountability, but to demand a process that is transparent and credible.
“I write to you not as a fugitive evading accountability, but as a Nigerian citizen who maintains an unwavering belief in equity, justice, and the rule of law,” he stated.
He described the ICPC directive as “a vital first step,” but added that “the structural realities of this investigation compel me to speak out of a profound desire for absolute transparency.”
According to him, the current framework poses “severe structural challenges” because the agency investigating reports directly to the same arm of government where the allegations originated.
“True accountability cannot be achieved when the agency conducting the investigation answers directly to the branch of government within which the core allegations lie,” he argued.
Adeyemi told the President he cannot surrender under the present arrangement because his life is in danger.
“I must state clearly that walking freely into custody under the current arrangement poses an immediate, existential threat to my life. I have received verified, highly reliable intelligence indicating that I am targeted for elimination the moment I surface in an unmonitored environment,” he said.
He tied his fears to the death of Mr. Dolapo Babatunde Tanimola, described as “a central intermediary” in the PFIPC matter.
Official reports claim Tanimola died in a fire at Kachi Hotel, Utako, Abuja. Adeyemi, however, said there was “a total absence of independent eyewitness or media verification of any such inferno.”
He further alleged that days after the incident, “unidentified armed actors” demolished the hotel “without the official involvement of any federal capital regulatory agency,” effectively destroying evidence.
“Following this calculated destruction of a key locus of this investigation, alongside multiple direct attempts on my life and the safety of my family, I am forced to communicate from a secure, undisclosed location,” he said.
To restore confidence, Adeyemi urged Tinubu to constitute an independent, multi-stakeholder investigative panel.
“If this investigation is to command the absolute trust of the Nigerian public and the international community, it must transcend standard bureaucratic boundaries,” he said.
He proposed membership to include: Amnesty International, SERAP, the Nigerian Bar Association, independent media, the UN, US, UK, EU, ECOWAS, AU, World Bank, IMF, ICPC and EFCC.
“The moment this independent, multi-stakeholder panel is constituted, I will immediately step forward to present comprehensive documentation and verifiable evidences,” he pledged.
Adeyemi concluded that Nigeria’s anti-corruption credibility is on trial.
“A system cannot credibly investigate itself when its own key actors are central to the discourse. By broadening this panel, you will demonstrate to the world that your administration’s commitment to anti-corruption is absolute, institutional, and above palace politics. The international community is closely watching how Nigeria handles this test of fiscal integrity and governance,” he wrote.
He said he remains “fully prepared to present the facts and cooperate entirely with a balanced, secure, and independent panel.”
As of press time, the Presidency, ICPC and EFCC had not issued any official response to the specific allegations raised in the letter.
The PFIPC controversy centers on a reported ₦1.3 billion allocation inserted into the 2026 Appropriation Bill, which triggered public outrage and calls for a full audit of the council’s operations.
