Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew Biography: Man Behind Nigeria’s ₦1.3bn Ghost Agency Scandal?

Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew is a Nigerian public figure and self-described public administrator and investment promoter who became one of the most widely discussed names in Nigeria in 2026, following a high-profile scandal involving allegations of forgery, impersonation, and the operation of a fictitious government agency. He came into national prominence after claiming to be the Director-General of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), an agency the Nigerian Presidency firmly maintains does not exist.

Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew became famous, or more precisely, infamous, after allegations emerged that he had forged a presidential appointment letter bearing the purported signature of the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, operated a fictional government agency from an office in the Federal Secretariat Complex in Abuja, and maintained 34 bank accounts, including nine allegedly opened in the names of fictitious agencies. His arrest on October 27, 2025, and the subsequent filing of an eight-count criminal charge against him before the Federal High Court in Abuja on November 27, 2025, became a major national talking point. The controversy deepened further when budget documents revealed that an entity bearing the name of the alleged council had received over ₦1.3 billion in the 2026 Federal Appropriation Act, raising questions about oversight in Nigeria’s budgetary processes.

Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew is known primarily for the ongoing legal controversy surrounding his alleged operation of a fictitious presidential agency, his claims of having paid ₦400 million to secure a government appointment, and his prior history of alleged misrepresentation, including a 2016 episode where he paraded himself as the Ambassador and President-General of the World Youth Organisation, a body the United Nations publicly denied existed.

Profile Summary

Early Life

Publicly verifiable information about Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew’s date of birth, place of birth, family background, and early childhood is largely unavailable. He remained outside the public eye for most of his life, surfacing in limited media coverage in 2016 in connection with a claim that he had been elected as the President-General of the World Youth Organisation in New Delhi, India, a claim the United Nations subsequently denied. Beyond the title of “Prince” that he uses, little has been confirmed about his personal background or origins, as most publicly available information centers on the controversies surrounding him rather than personal biographical details.

Education

No publicly verified information has emerged regarding Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew’s educational background or academic qualifications. The Presidency of Nigeria and investigative media have not published any confirmed details of where he was educated or what qualifications, if any, he holds.

Career

Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew describes himself as a public administrator and investment promoter. According to his own account, he was appointed as the Director-General of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), which he claimed was established to attract foreign investment and intervention initiatives into Nigeria. He alleged that the council had offices at the Federal Secretariat Complex Phase III in Abuja, more than 300 members of staff, and multiple bank accounts with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

According to Adeyemi, he paid ₦400 million upfront, with an outstanding balance of ₦200 million, to secure his appointment as DG of the council. He further alleged that his relationship with Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila turned sour after he refused a request to surrender 48 percent of a proposed ₦27.39 billion take-off grant for the PFIPC. In his public account, he maintained that the council was real, that his appointment was legitimate, and that he had conducted extensive operations, including hosting high-profile meetings with ambassadors and engaging with foreign nationals and delegations.

The Presidency, however, flatly denied all of these claims. In an official statement, the Office of the Chief of Staff disclosed that it had first been alerted to Adeyemi’s activities after the Nigerian Investment Promotion Council (NIPC) complained that another agency appeared to be operating at cross-purposes with it. On October 17, 2025, the Chief of Staff formally petitioned the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigeria Police Force to investigate. On October 27, 2025, police arrested Adeyemi at his alleged secretariat office in Abuja, recovering documents and exhibits from both his office and his home in Suleja. Police investigations subsequently concluded that the agency never legally existed, that Adeyemi’s appointment letter was forged, and that he had fraudulently opened a CBN account using forged government documents to mislead the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation. On November 27, 2025, the Nigeria Police filed an eight-count charge against Adeyemi and two alleged accomplices (identified as Femi and Anu, who were at large) before the Federal High Court in Abuja, covering charges of conspiracy to commit forgery, forgery of presidential appointment documents, forgery of official State House letterheads, impersonation as Director-General, and forgery of additional official correspondence. The case’s next court date is July 27, 2026.

An added dimension to the controversy was the discovery that budget documents showed a ₦1.3 billion allocation in the 2026 Federal Appropriation Act for an entity bearing the PFIPC’s name, comprising approximately ₦802.98 million in personnel costs, ₦200 million for overhead, and ₦300 million for capital expenditure. The Presidency maintained that no government funds were transferred to the associated accounts.

Controversies

This is not the first time Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew has attracted national attention for alleged misrepresentation. In November 2016, he paraded himself in the Nigerian media as the Ambassador and President-General of the World Youth Organisation (WYO), claiming the body was an affiliate of the United Nations and that he had been elected to the role in New Delhi, India. The Nigerian media celebrated the announcement until the United Nations publicly denied the existence of any such organization. The Presidency cited this 2016 episode as evidence of what it described as a documented pattern of fraudulent misrepresentation.

Social Media

The Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council operated a website and social media presence, through which Adeyemi publicized meetings and engagements, including photographs with what the Presidency described as a high-powered delegation from the China Investment Business Development Commission.

His personal social media footprint beyond the PFIPC channels has not been widely reported.

Personal Life

Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew has kept his personal life very private, and no verified information about his family, marital status, or personal background has been published.

He has maintained throughout the controversy that he is innocent and has expressed confidence that he will be vindicated in court.

He appeared on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme during the scandal, denying that he was evading the law and asserting that he was prepared to face trial.

Net Worth

Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew’s personal net worth has not been publicly disclosed. He alleged that he paid ₦400 million to secure his appointment, and operated what appeared to be a functioning office with staff and multiple bank accounts; however, the veracity of all financial claims related to his activities remains a matter before the courts.

Conclusion

Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew’s story is one of Nigeria’s most unusual and contentious public controversies of 2026.

Whether one views him as a convicted con artist, as the Presidency alleges, or as a man who insists his appointment was legitimate and that he will be vindicated, the case has raised serious questions about oversight, budget transparency, and the vetting of government appointees in Nigeria.

With his trial at the Federal High Court in Abuja ongoing, and the next hearing scheduled for July 27, 2026, the full truth of what happened inside the corridors of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council remains to be determined by the courts.

His case has already left a significant mark on Nigeria’s public discourse about governance, accountability, and the dangers of institutional blind spots.