US to investigate ₦1.3bn funding linked to fake Nigerian presidential agency, Tinubu’s chief of staff named

A U.S. Washington-based lobbying and policy advisory firm Von Batten-Montague-York, L.C., has announced a review of U.S.-linked funding connected to an alleged fake Nigerian presidential agency after the organisation was reported to have received a ₦1.3 billion allocation in Nigeria’s national budget.

According to the agency, the budget also included financing from the World Bank Group, prompting a review into whether U.S.-linked World Bank resources or other international funding were received by, diverted to or benefited the alleged fake agency.

The agency stated that the individual arrested in connection with the alleged scheme accused senior Nigerian government officials of involvement. Among those named is President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, who was alleged to have played a key role in the operation and to have requested a total of ₦600 million in kickbacks.

Von Batten-Montague-York, L.C. said it is seeking to expand the investigation to determine whether senior members of the Tinubu administration participated in a broader conspiracy to defraud the United States by illegally obtaining, diverting or benefiting from U.S.-linked funding connected to the alleged fake agency.

The controversy began after Nigerian authorities uncovered an alleged fake government body known as the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), also referred to as the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC).

Despite the Presidency insisting that the agency was never legally established, investigators alleged that it operated from the Federal Secretariat, opened bank accounts, engaged with foreign diplomats and secured a ₦1.3 billion allocation in the 2026 national budget.

The alleged Director-General, Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, has been charged with offences including forgery and impersonation, while the Presidency has described him as an impostor.