Businessman Opens Up On How He Paid N400m to Fake Agency DG and What It Was Used For, Video Emerges
- A Lagos businessman told the House of Representatives ad hoc committee he paid N400 million linked to the PFIPC controversy
- Gbenga Collins said he believed he was dealing with a legitimate federal government agency after visiting an office at the Abuja federal secretariat
- Collins said the money was paid in five instalments into third-party accounts, and the promised contract mobilisation never arrived
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Gbenga Collins, managing director of Divine Dopacy Nigeria Limited, told lawmakers on Tuesday, August 4, that he transferred N400 million to a man who presented himself as a federal government official in connection with a contract to renovate and furnish an official residence.
Collins appeared before the House of Representatives ad hoc committee investigating the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Councilc) and the N1.3 billion allocated to the council in the 2026 Appropriation Act.
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He said he first encountered Adeniyi Adeyemi in December 2024, when cintroduced himself as the director-general of both the PFIPC and the Presidential Economic Advisory Council.
Collins said he had no reason to doubt the man's credentials, given that Adeyemi operated from an office inside the federal secretariat in Abuja, drove official vehicles bearing government number plates, and was accompanied by security personnel.
How the contract arrangement unfolded
Collins told the committee that Adeyemi later approached him about plans to renovate his official residence and invited Divine Dopacy Nigeria Limited to handle the project.
Adeyemi personally escorted Collins to inspect the property, bringing along staff and security.
By April 2025, Collins said he received a contract award letter, a scope of work, and a formal agreement for the refurbishment project. Adeyemi subsequently requested N400 million, which Collins understood as proof of his company's financial capacity and a condition for securing contract mobilisation.
"I had to pay N400 million for the facilitation of that project to show my strength that I would be able to handle the project," Collins told the committee.
He said he sourced the funds from business associates who trusted him based on his personal visits to Adeyemi's office.
The money was paid in five instalments between May and July 2025 into accounts held by World Entrepreneurs Limited and Sunshine Confectionery and Catering Services.
Promised mobilisation that never came
Collins said Adeyemi gave repeated assurances that mobilisation payments would begin in August 2025 and later pushed the date to November 2025. Neither promise was fulfilled.
"My lawyer was the first person who told me that I had been scammed," Collins said, adding that a petition was then filed with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
He acknowledged that he did not follow the Public Procurement Act but denied that the payment was a bribe, insisting he regarded it as a standard facilitation condition. He appealed to the committee to help recover the funds, The Cable reported.
Background to the PFIPC scandal
The controversy over the PFIPC has drawn in Femi Gbajabiamila, chief of staff to President Bola Tinubu, whom Adeyemi claims issued his appointment letter, an allegation Gbajabiamila has denied.
Adeyemi was arrested on July 14 by police intelligence operatives in Osun State, days after Gbajabiamila filed a N15 billion defamation suit against him.
Earlier hearings at the committee produced additional testimony: on July 27, accountant-general Shamseldeen Ogunjimi said Adeyemi intercepted a State House letter that could have exposed forged PFIPC documents, while on July 29, head of the civil service Esther Walson-Jack admitted there was no proper verification of the council's documents before staffing approvals were granted.
Fake agency scandal: Adeyemi mentions more MDAs
Previously, Legit.ng reported that the self-described Director-General of the disputed Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council, Adeniyi Adeyemi, pushed back against allegations that he fabricated the agency on his own, claiming that some of the most powerful offices in the Federal Government formally engaged with the council.
Adeyemi, who is currently in police detention, issued the claims through his legal defence team on Sunday, August 2, in a statement signed by Festus Akhigbe.
Source: Legit.ng
