By Eshioromeh Sebastian
The Presidency has formally declared Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew an impostor, urging the public and political actors to refrain from prejudging his ongoing trial over allegations of forging appointment letters to create a fictitious presidential council.
In a statement issued on Wednesday by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the State House described Adeyemi as a “con artist” who constructed an elaborate web of false claims to deceive government officials and the public.
According to the statement, the investigation began after the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President flagged the existence of an illegal agency called the “Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council” in October 2025, following complaints from the Nigerian Investment Promotion Council.
The statement explained that, in a petition dated October 17, 2025, the Chief of Staff requested the Department of State Services and the Police to investigate “fraudsters and imposters” forging appointment letters purportedly issued from his office.
The petition noted that the fake documents bore “falsified signatures, reference/folio numbers, and seals”.
The Presidency noted that the Foreign Affairs Ministry also raised concerns after Adeyemi held a meeting with ambassadors at the Wells Carlton Hotel in Asokoro on October 10, 2025, without recourse to the ministry, an act the ministry said “contravenes extant rules and regulations guiding diplomatic practices globally” .
The State House also claimed that investigations by the Police revealed that Adeyemi operated 34 bank accounts, with nine opened in the names of fictitious agencies.
He also fraudulently opened a Central Bank of Nigeria account by misleading the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, though no government funds were transferred into it, according to investigators .
Adeyemi was arrested on October 27, 2025, at his secretariat office in Abuja. During interrogation, he claimed that one Dolapo Babatunde Tanimola assisted him in procuring the fake appointment letter. However, police later confirmed that Tanimola had died in a fire incident at Kachi Hotel in Abuja on October 22—five days before Adeyemi’s arrest .
An eight-count charge was filed against Adeyemi and two accomplices at the Federal High Court in Abuja on November 27, 2025. He is due to appear in court on July 27 .
The Presidency noted that Adeyemi has a history of false presentation. In November 2016, he paraded himself as an ambassador and President-General of the World Youth Organisation, an affiliate of the United Nations, until the UN denied the existence of such a body .
Mr. Onanuga cautioned politicians and members of the public against weaponising Adeyemi’s claims against the Chief of Staff, advising them to “await the trial of Adeyemi and his accomplices, as well as the court’s judgement, as comments made today are sub judice”.
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