The Director-General of the disputed Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), Adeniyi Adeyemi, has questioned how the agency was included in the 2026 national budget despite repeated claims by the Presidency that it was never legally established.

Adeyemi raised the issue during a conversation with social media activist Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, describing the situation as confusing and calling for an independent investigation into the controversy.

According to him, if the Presidency maintained that the council did not exist, it remained unclear how lawmakers approved funding for the agency and how the appropriation eventually received presidential assent.

“You see, this whole thing is confusing, very confusing. When the Presidency, through the Chief of Staff, said the agency does not exist, I wondered how the agency found its way into the national budget,” Adeyemi said.

He questioned how both chambers of the National Assembly approved the allocation without identifying any irregularity and how the budget was subsequently signed into law.

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Adeyemi insisted that neither he nor any official of the PFIPC appeared before the National Assembly to defend the agency’s proposed budget.

He explained that he was in police custody during the period the budget was being prepared after honouring an invitation from the Nigeria Police Force over a petition allegedly submitted by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila.

According to Adeyemi, investigators questioned him about the activities of the council, his appointment letter and individuals allegedly connected to his appointment.

He said he was detained for 23 days, from October 27 to November 19, before he was formally arraigned in court on November 27.

“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 is why I am confused about how the budget that nobody defended still found its way into the national budget,” he stated.

Adeyemi further claimed that by the time he regained his freedom, the office previously occupied by the council had already been reassigned to another government official.

He said he had not returned to the office since his arrest in October 2025 because the premises were no longer under his control.

Addressing the Presidency’s insistence that the PFIPC never existed, Adeyemi declined to directly accuse Gbajabiamila of making false claims but maintained that only an independent inquiry could determine the truth.

“I wouldn’t say he is lying, and I wouldn’t say he’s telling the truth. That’s why I requested that Mr President set up an investigative panel to look into this whole issue and unravel the truth so we know who is involved,” he said.

The embattled PFIPC chief also reiterated his willingness to cooperate with investigators, stating that he was prepared to submit every document in his possession to the Nigeria Police Force or the Department of State Services (DSS) for forensic examination.

He maintained that such an investigation would establish the authenticity of the documents and clarify the circumstances surrounding the controversial agency.

Adeyemi further alleged that he survived an attack by unidentified gunmen near Zuma Rock, close to Madala, in September 2025, although he did not provide further details regarding the incident.

The PFIPC controversy has continued to generate national attention following conflicting claims by the Presidency and Adeyemi over the agency’s legal status, appointment records and the inclusion of a budgetary allocation for the council in the 2026 Appropriation Act.