The controversy surrounding the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) has taken on an international dimension after a United States-based lobbyist called for American authorities to widen their scrutiny of the unfolding scandal.
Von Batten-Montague-York has urged US President Donald Trump and members of the US Congress to examine allegations that senior officials within President Bola Tinubu’s administration may have been involved in a scheme connected to the disputed agency and its controversial budget allocation.
The lobbyist claimed the investigation should go beyond the council itself to determine whether any attempt was made to improperly access or divert funds linked to international development programmes involving the United States.
At the centre of his call is the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, whom he urged American authorities to scrutinise despite the Presidency’s repeated insistence that the senior official has no connection to the PFIPC.
Lobbyist Alleges Possible Misuse Of US-Linked Funds
In a post shared on social media, Batten-Montague-York alleged that the controversial agency received a ₦1.3 billion allocation in Nigeria’s 2026 Appropriation Act despite the Federal Government’s position that no such council officially exists.
He argued that because parts of the national budget include projects funded through international development partnerships involving the United States, questions should be asked about whether any US-linked resources were exposed to fraud.
According to him, efforts are underway to push for an expanded investigation into what he described as a possible conspiracy involving senior government officials.
However, the allegations remain unverified. As of the time of filing this report, neither the US government nor the United States Congress has announced any formal investigation into the claims.
Old US Disciplinary Case Against Gbajabiamila Resurfaces
The renewed attention on the PFIPC saga has also revived discussions about Gbajabiamila’s disciplinary history in the United States before he entered frontline Nigerian politics.
Court records from the Supreme Court of Georgia show that the former Speaker of the House of Representatives was suspended from legal practice for 36 months in 2007 after admitting to professional misconduct involving client funds.
According to the records, Gbajabiamila received a client’s $25,000 settlement, deposited the money into his attorney trust account and failed to transfer the funds to the client within the required period.
The documents further indicated that he admitted using the money for personal purposes before eventually repaying the client ahead of the disciplinary proceedings.
Although the court observed that the offence ordinarily carried the penalty of disbarment, it accepted his petition for voluntary discipline and imposed a three-year suspension instead.
Subsequent reports indicated that he never sought reinstatement after the suspension expired, resulting in the termination of his membership of the State Bar of Georgia.
PFIPC Budget Mystery Deepens
Meanwhile, fresh comments by the self-acclaimed Director-General of the PFIPC, Adeniyi Adeyemi, have added another layer to the controversy surrounding the agency’s appearance in the 2026 budget.
The Presidency has consistently maintained that the council is fictitious, accusing Adeyemi of forging appointment letters and official documents to present himself as the head of a non-existent government agency.
Adeyemi has denied the accusations and is currently facing criminal charges relating to alleged forgery, impersonation and other offences.
Despite the ongoing legal battle, he insists there are unanswered questions about how the agency secured a budget allocation if, as government officials claim, it never legally existed.
‘I Was In Detention During Budget Process’
In a viral video released on Wednesday, Adeyemi dismissed suggestions that he prepared or defended the PFIPC’s budget proposal before the National Assembly.
He said he was in police custody for 23 days—from October 27 to November 19—during the critical period when ministries and agencies were preparing and defending their budget estimates.
According to him, his detention made it impossible for him or anyone representing the council to participate in the appropriation process.
Adeyemi questioned how the agency eventually secured ₦1.3 billion in the Appropriation Act if no official from the council appeared before lawmakers.
He argued that the circumstances surrounding the allocation deserved a transparent investigation, insisting that the inclusion of the PFIPC in the national budget suggested that it was recognised by certain institutions within government despite subsequent claims that it never existed.
The controversy continues to generate public debate, with opposition parties, civil society organisations and other stakeholders demanding a full explanation of how the disputed agency found its way into Nigeria’s 2026 budget.