A businessman, Gbenga Collins, on Tuesday, told the House of Representatives how he allegedly paid N400 million to Adeniyi Adeyemi, who presented himself as the director-general of the purported Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), after being promised a government contract to renovate and furnish an official residence.
Mr Collins, managing director of Divine Dopacy Nigeria Limited, said he was convinced that Mr Adeyemi was a genuine government official because he operated from an office at the Federal Secretariat in Abuja, used vehicles with federal government number plates and was surrounded by security personnel and visitors he described as dignitaries.
He gave this testimony before the House Ad-hoc Committee investigating the alleged establishment and activities of the PFIPC, chaired by Yusuf Gagdi (APC, Plateau).
Mr Collins said he first met Mr Adeyemi in December 2024 at a programme in their hometown, Ogbomoso, Oyo State.
He said Mr Adeyemi subsequently invited him to Abuja in January or February 2025 to discuss a business opportunity.
According to him, an official vehicle picked him up at the Abuja airport and took him to Mr Adeyemi’s office at the Federal Secretariat.
“When I arrived at the airport, he sent an official car to come and pick me from the airport to his office at the Federal Secretariat, Abuja,” he told the committee.
He said the vehicle was a Lexus SUV with a federal government registration number.
Mr Collins said he met several people, including security personnel, at the office and that Mr Adeyemi presented himself as the director-general of both the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC) and the PFIPC.
“I saw police officers with him. That was my first time coming to Abuja because I’m not familiar with Abuja very well. He sent his official car to pick me up from the airport. It had a federal government registration number attached to the Lexus SUV,” he said.
How the alleged contract was offered
Mr Collins said Mr Adeyemi subsequently told him that an official residence had been allocated to him as director-general and that the property required renovation and furnishing.
He said Mr Adeyemi offered Divine Dopacy Nigeria Limited the contract to carry out the work.
According to him, Mr Adeyemi personally took him to inspect the property the following day.
“He told me that he wanted to do refurbishment and renovation of the official house assigned to him as the DG of that agency and asked whether I would be able to handle the contract,” he said.
Mr Collins said they visited the property with several staff members and security personnel, adding that several vehicles were used for the inspection.
“He took me to the house to show me the property because I slept in Abuja. We went there the following day with his staff. We went with more than four, five or six vehicles with security. They opened the house and took us round, showing me what they wanted to do,” he said.
He said he could not remember the exact location of the property because he was unfamiliar with Abuja, but still had photographs of the building.
N400m payment
Mr Collins said discussions over the project continued after he returned to Ogbomoso until April 2025, when Mr Adeyemi invited him back to Abuja.
He said the ‘DG’ then gave him a contract award letter, a scope of work and an agreement between the purported agency and his company.
According to him, Mr Adeyemi told him to pay N400 million as evidence of his financial capacity to execute the project and to facilitate mobilisation.
“He gave me the contract award letter, the scope of work and the agreement with my company to execute the refurbishment project.
“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. At the same time, he said it would fast-track the mobilisation for the contract,” he said.
Mr Collins said he sourced the money from business associates who trusted his judgment because he had personally visited Mr Adeyemi’s office and believed he was dealing with a legitimate federal government official.
He said the N400 million was paid in five instalments between May and July 2025.
The first N100 million was paid on 16 May 2025 into an account held by World Entrepreneurs Limited at Guaranty Trust Bank.
Another N100 million was paid into the same account on 22 May, and a further N100 million on 28 May.
Mr Collins said he later paid N80 million into the account on 20 June, bringing the total paid into the World Entrepreneurs Limited account to N380 million.
He said he subsequently told Mr Adeyemi that he could no longer raise any more money, as he had exhausted his resources.
The remaining N20 million was eventually paid on 29 July 2025 into an Access Bank account belonging to Sunshine Confectionery and Catering Services, bringing the total amount to N400 million.
“When I was paying the money, I kept telling him that I collected the money from my colleagues who were doing business with me.
“I was the one who told them I had gone to this man’s office, so I believed it was going to be a great opportunity for us. That was why people started giving me the money,” he said.
Promised mobilisation failed to materialise
Mr Collins said Mr Adeyemi repeatedly assured him that mobilisation for the project would begin in August 2025.
The payment, however, did not lead to the promised contract execution.
“When I finished the payment, he said they were going to do the mobilisation by August,” he said.
He said Mr Adeyemi later attributed the delay to security concerns and subsequently promised that payment would be made in November.
“I continued calling him. He kept managing me, telling me they were handling security issues and that they would pay in November,” he said.
As pressure mounted from the associates who had contributed the money, Mr Collins said he made several trips to Abuja in an attempt to reach Mr Adeyemi.
He said the purported PFIPC chief eventually stopped answering his calls.
Mr Collins said he then sought legal advice in Abuja.
“My lawyer was the first person who told me that I had been scammed,” he told the committee.
EFCC petition
Mr Collins said his lawyer petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on 13 November 2025.
He said he was formally invited to adopt the petition six days later.
“The petition was written on the 13th, and I was invited to adopt it on the 19th,” he said.
According to him, the EFCC subsequently commenced an investigation and invited individuals connected to the bank accounts into which the money was paid.
He said investigators told him Mr Adeyemi had repeatedly failed to honour invitations from the agency, allegedly citing ill health through his lawyer.
“Since then, the EFCC has been trying to invite him. I think he has been sending his lawyer. According to the Investigating Police Officer handling the case, his lawyer kept saying he would appear,” he said.
Mr Collins said he had not received further information on the investigation but believed the EFCC was handling the matter.
‘I have started selling my property’
Mr Collins appealed to the committee to intervene, saying the alleged transaction had left him financially distressed and damaged his business.
“I just want to beg the chairman and the honourable members to help me talk to all the agencies involved because I have been frustrated, especially by those people who gave me the money. I have started selling my property. My business is not going well again,” he said.
He said he had acted on trust because his encounters with Mr Adeyemi gave him the impression that he was dealing with a genuine government official.
“I did all this based on trust. When I went to his office, I met many dignitaries, people waiting to see him, and others with whom he was in discussions about contracts. I also did it because he is from my hometown,” he said.
Reps question N400m payment
During the hearing, Mr Gagdi asked Mr Collins whether the N400 million payment constituted a bribe to secure the purported government contract.
Mr Collins rejected the description, saying he paid the money because Mr Adeyemi presented it as a condition for facilitating and mobilising the project.
The lawmakers also asked whether he had followed the required public procurement process before accepting the contract.
Mr Collins admitted that he had not gone through any procurement process before proceeding with the transaction.
He further urged the committee to prevail on the security agencies investigating the matter to ensure justice.
“What I just have to say is to beg the committee, or to implore the committee, to please, in all their capacity, whatever they can use to assist me with the police that are investigating him.
“Because I was invited to the Cybercrime office. He said the same thing, that he did not deny collecting the N400 million,” he said.
Mr Gagdi also asked whether Mr Collins had converted any part of the N400 million into United States dollars before making the payment.
Mr Collins said he did not.
Reps summon FRSC Corps Marshal
Following the testimony, members of the committee questioned how vehicles allegedly associated with the purported council obtained federal government registration number plates.
The lawmakers noted that the presence of government number plates on the vehicles was among the factors that convinced Mr Collins that Mr Adeyemi was operating a legitimate government institution.
The committee consequently summoned the Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) to appear on Thursday.
The corps marshal is expected to explain the procedure for issuing federal government registration number plates and clarify how vehicles allegedly used by the purported agency obtained such plates.
Why Adeyemi is not appearing before panel
Mr Gagdi also explained why Mr Adeyemi had not appeared before the committee despite earlier invitations.
He said the committee had not abandoned plans to question Mr Adeyemi but was constrained by a subsisting court order under which he remains in police custody.
“For the benefit of the general public, we are not refusing to invite Prince Adeniyi here. We have pronounced him to appear here and police have responded that he is in their custody based on the court order,” Mr Gagdi said.
He said the National Assembly would not interfere with the powers of the judiciary by attempting to vacate or override a court order.
“As an arm of government, we respect the principle of federalism and separation of powers. We respect the powers of the judiciary, the executive and we equally limit ourselves within our own powers,” he said.
“We do not have the power as the National Assembly to vacate an existing court order and say that somebody who is in the custody of the Nigerian Police should leave the police to appear before the National Assembly,” he said.
Mr Gagdi, however, said the committee would still interact with Mr Adeyemi at an undisclosed date and location.
He explained that the arrangement was necessary because the EFCC, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and other agencies were investigating aspects of the matter, while some issues were also before the courts.
“We will not announce to the general public when we will interact with Prince Adeniyi. We will not, because the ICPC are investigating this matter. EFCC are investigating this matter. Part of this matter is before the court of law and many other agencies,” he said.
Mr Gagdi said a public session with Mr Adeyemi could interfere with ongoing investigations.
He added that the meeting would be recorded and conducted in the presence of Mr Adeyemi’s lawyers and relevant security officials.
“Whether he appears before this committee or this committee appears before him, the most important thing is to have an interaction with him to get some things clarified. And we are going to do just that,” he said.
Hearing to continue
The chairman said the committee would continue its public hearing on Thursday and conclude its outstanding engagements within the week.
He said aspects of its findings would subsequently be made public, while the committee’s final report would be presented to the House for consideration when lawmakers resume.
The House committee is investigating the alleged establishment and operations of the PFIPC, including allegations of forgery, impersonation, financial impropriety and abuse of public institutions.
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