"I'm Wondering How a Budget I Didn't Defend Found Its Way Into the National Budget Because I Was in Detention Then" — Adeyemi

Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, who claims to be the Director-General of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), has questioned how the agency was included in the national budget despite the Presidency's position that it never existed.

Speaking during an interview with social media activist Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, Adeyemi said he was in police detention while the budget was being prepared and therefore could not have participated in any budget defence.

According to him, he honoured an invitation by the Nigeria Police Force on October 27 over a petition allegedly filed by the President's Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, challenging the activities of the PFIPC.

Adeyemi said investigators questioned him about the agency, his appointment letter and the circumstances surrounding his appointment. He added that he remained in detention for 23 days, from October 27 to November 19, before he was arraigned on November 27.

He said the agency's office had already been reallocated to another government official by the time he regained his freedom and that he has not returned to the office since his arrest.

Adeyemi maintained that neither he nor anyone else defended the agency's budget before the National Assembly, describing its inclusion in the Appropriation Act as puzzling.

He questioned how the National Assembly approved funding for an agency the Presidency now says does not exist.

"I was in detention during the period for the preparation of the budget. I did not defend the budget, and nobody went for the defence. That's why I am confused about how the budget that nobody defended still found its way into the national budget," he said.

Responding to Gbajabiamila's assertion that the PFIPC never existed, Adeyemi said he was not accusing the Chief of Staff of lying but insisted that only an independent investigation could establish the facts.

He renewed his call on President Bola Tinubu to constitute an investigative panel to determine how the agency emerged and who was responsible for its inclusion in the budget.

Adeyemi also said he was prepared to hand over all documents in his possession to the police or the Department of State Services (DSS) to assist investigators in verifying their authenticity.

He further alleged that he survived an attack by gunmen near Zuma Rock, close to Madala, in September last year.