I’m Political analyst Bayo Ayanga has called on Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, to temporarily step aside over allegations linked to the purported Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), arguing that only a court can grant “total clearance.”
Ayanga spoke on Thursday during _Frontline_, a current affairs programme on Eagle 102.5 FM, Ilese-Ijebu, Ogun State.
—“Only the Court Can Clear Him”—
The call follows comments by human rights lawyer Femi Falana, SAN, who said the Presidency lacked constitutional power to exonerate anyone in the matter and demanded an independent probe of both Gbajabiamila and Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, the self-styled PFIPC director-general.
![](https://www.theconclaveng.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Hartland.png")
“Femi Gbajabiamila will have to step down. Until this whole mess is cleared. Because the mess is not cleared yet,” Ayanga said. “The fact that the Presidency said it is cleared… is not cleared yet. Until we see the end of this case and the court says, oh, this man is guilty or you are not guilty. That’s the total clearance.”
He clarified he was not calling for resignation, but for Gbajabiamila to step aside pending judicial determination: “No, no. For him to step down pending him being cleared by the courts. I’m not saying he should resign.”
Ayanga also questioned the speed of the Presidency’s response. “This allegation was made some days ago, and then within a week we have cleared the man. How? How did they clear him? They are so swift about it,” he said.
—The Allegations Against Gbajabiamila—
The controversy stems from an ongoing legal battle at the Federal High Court, Abuja, FHC/ABJ/CR/2025, between Gbajabiamila and Adeyemi.
Adeyemi alleged that Gbajabiamila demanded a ₦400 million kickback, an additional ₦200 million, and a 48 per cent share of a proposed ₦27.4 billion take-off grant to secure his position in the fictitious PFIPC.
The Presidency on July 1, 2026, dismissed the claims, declaring PFIPC “an entirely fictitious entity” and stating the Chief of Staff has no power to issue federal appointments.
—Police Probe Exposes “Shadow Agency’’—
A police investigation triggered by Gbajabiamila’s petition alleged that Adeyemi ran an unauthorized “shadow agency” from an office in the Federal Secretariat, Abuja.
According to the police, Adeyemi forged appointment letters, official stamps, correspondences, and Gbajabiamila’s signature, and hosted foreign diplomats under false pretences. Investigators also traced 34 bank accounts to him, including nine linked to fake government entities and an alleged account opened at the Central Bank of Nigeria*iǰ using deceptive letters.
Adeyemi is now at large. The Nigeria Police Force has filed eight counts against him, with trial set to begin July 27, 2026. He has denied wrongdoing, calling the case politically motivated.
—Falana Queries Budget, CBN Accounts—
Falana questioned how a non-existent agency secured budgetary and banking access. “The government will have to explain to Nigerians how a whopping sum of *₦24 billion* was budgeted for an unknown agency, as well as how that agency had accounts with the Central Bank of Nigeria,” he said.
—“A Governance Lacuna Exposed’—
Ayanga said the case exposed “a very great lacuna” in Nigeria’s administrative systems.
“For someone to wake up one day, declare himself as the DG of a fictitious agency, secure office spaces in the Federal Secretariat… How did that happen? How did he enter into the 2026 appropriation? How did he present false documents to CBN and then CBN opened accounts?” he asked.
He argued that the process should have been stopped at “the first table” but passed multiple layers of approval. “Meanwhile nobody did anything,” he said.
The analyst said the episode should prompt reforms in verification, digital authentication of documents, and inter-agency coordination to prevent institutional impersonation.
“This is not wrong in itself. Because at the end of the day, it should help foster better administration, better governance… Maybe the man is an impostor. But it means that there are some things that could be done within this system that shouldn’t be done,” Ayanga stated.
