A Nigerian agribusiness entrepreneur on Tuesday told the House of Representatives how he paid a total of N400 million to Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, the self-styled Director-General of the purported Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), after being offered a contract to renovate and furnish what was presented as the official residence of the agency’s chief executive.
Mr. Gbenga Collins, Managing Director of Divine Dopacy Nigeria Limited, appeared before the House Ad-hoc Committee investigating the alleged establishment and activities of the PFIPC. The panel is chaired by Hon. Yusuf Gagdi. Collins, a graduate of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, whose company sources agricultural produce for export, said his dealings with Adeyemi began from a position of trust rooted in shared origins and the visible trappings of official authority.
Collins told lawmakers that he first met Adeyemi in their hometown of Ogbomoso, Oyo State, in December 2024. Shortly afterwards, Adeyemi invited him to Abuja. Upon arrival at the airport, Collins said an official vehicle with Federal Government registration numbers picked him up and conveyed him to an office at the Federal Secretariat. There, he met Adeyemi surrounded by security personnel and several high-profile visitors.
“He is a well-known man in Ogbomoso. I met a lot of people, very big dignitaries in his office, and I met a group of security officers guarding the office,” Collins narrated. Adeyemi, he said, presented himself as Director-General of both the Presidential Economic Advisory Council and the PFIPC. The following day, Adeyemi personally took him, accompanied by staff and a convoy of vehicles with security, to inspect a property he claimed had been allocated as his official residence and which required refurbishment.
Convinced by the setting and the Ogbomoso connection, Collins accepted the purported contract. In April 2025, Adeyemi allegedly issued him a contract award letter, scope of work and an agreement. Collins said he was required to pay N400 million to demonstrate financial capacity and facilitate mobilisation. He raised the sum from business associates who trusted his assessment of the opportunity.
The payments were made in five instalments between May and July 2025. Three tranches of N100 million each and a further N80 million went into a Guaranty Trust Bank account belonging to World Entrepreneurs Limited. The final N20 million was paid into an Access Bank account of Sunshine Confectionery and Catering Services. Collins insisted the money was not a bribe but a condition for the contract’s facilitation and mobilisation.
After the payments, Adeyemi repeatedly assured him that mobilisation would begin in August 2025, later shifting the timeline to November while citing security issues. When the promised funds failed to materialise and Adeyemi stopped responding to calls, Collins sought legal advice. His lawyer petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on 13 November 2025. Collins formally adopted the petition six days later. He told the committee that EFCC investigators have been unable to secure Adeyemi’s appearance, with the latter citing ill health through his lawyer.
Collins appealed to the lawmakers for intervention, disclosing that pressure from those who contributed the funds has forced him to begin selling personal property. “I did all this based on trust,” he said. “When I went to his office, I met a lot of big dignitaries there… I also did it because he is from my hometown.”
Committee members questioned whether the N400 million constituted a bribe and whether any public procurement process was followed. Collins rejected the bribe characterisation and admitted he did not subject the purported contract to any formal procurement procedure.
Following the testimony, the committee expressed concern over the use of official Federal Government number plates on vehicles associated with the purported council. It summoned the Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps to appear on Thursday to explain the process for issuing such plates.
On Adeyemi’s absence, Chairman Gagdi clarified that the committee is constrained by a court order placing him in police custody. He stressed that the National Assembly would not override judicial authority. The panel will, however, interact with Adeyemi at an undisclosed date and location, in the presence of his lawyers and without compromising ongoing investigations by the EFCC, ICPC and other agencies.
The Ad-hoc Committee continues its public hearing this week as it probes allegations of forgery, impersonation, financial impropriety and abuse of public institutions linked to the purported PFIPC.
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