The managing director of Divine Dopacy Nigeria Limited, Gbenga Collins, has told the House of Representatives ad hoc committee investigating the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) controversy that he paid ₦400 million to Adeniyi Adeyemi to facilitate the award of a contract for the renovation and furnishing of an apartment Adeyemi claimed was his official residence.
Collins made the disclosure during the committee’s public hearing on Tuesday as lawmakers continued their probe into the PFIPC and the controversial ₦1.3 billion allocation made to the council in the 2026 Appropriation Act.
According to Collins, he believed the PFIPC was a genuine federal government agency because Adeyemi operated from an office within the Federal Secretariat in Abuja, used official vehicles with government number plates and was accompanied by security personnel.
He said he first met Adeyemi in December 2024 when the latter introduced himself as the Director-General of the PFIPC and the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC).
Collins told the committee that Adeyemi later informed him of plans to renovate his official residence and invited his company to execute the project. He said Adeyemi personally took him to inspect the property alongside members of his staff and security personnel.
The businessman further stated that in April 2025, Adeyemi presented him with a contract award letter, the scope of work and an agreement covering the refurbishment project.
He explained that Adeyemi subsequently demanded ₦400 million as proof of his company’s financial capacity and as a condition to facilitate mobilisation for the contract.
“I had to pay ₦400 million for the facilitation of that project to show my strength that I would be able to handle the project,” Collins told the lawmakers.
He said he sourced the money from business associates who trusted him because he was convinced he was dealing with a legitimate government agency after visiting Adeyemi’s office.
Collins disclosed that the ₦400 million was paid in five instalments between May and July 2025 into the accounts of World Entrepreneurs Limited and Sunshine Confectionery and Catering Services.
However, he said the promised mobilisation fee was never released despite repeated assurances that payment would commence in August and later in November 2025.
“My lawyer was the first person who told me that I had been scammed,” he said, adding that he subsequently petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Although he admitted that the transaction did not comply with the Public Procurement Act, Collins insisted the payment was not a bribe but a condition he believed was required to facilitate the contract. He appealed to the lawmakers to help recover the ₦400 million from Adeyemi.
The PFIPC controversy has drawn national attention following allegations that Adeyemi fraudulently operated the council using forged government documents. Adeyemi had claimed that his appointment as Director-General was approved by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, an allegation the presidential aide denied.
Adeyemi also previously claimed he borrowed ₦400 million to secure the PFIPC Director-General appointment and that the lenders later reported him to the EFCC over the unpaid debt.
He was arrested on July 14 by operatives of the Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT) in Osun State, days after Gbajabiamila instituted a ₦15 billion defamation suit against him.
During earlier sittings of the investigative panel, several government officials disclosed that documents allegedly submitted by Adeyemi led to budgetary allocations for the PFIPC despite the agency not being lawfully established. The Accountant-General of the Federation, Shamseldeen Ogunjimi, also told lawmakers that Adeyemi intercepted a letter sent to the State House that could have exposed the forged documents, while the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Esther Walson-Jack, admitted there was inadequate due diligence in verifying the documents presented by the PFIPC before approvals were granted.