Nigeria Is Not A Banana Republic: CNPP Demands Sack Of Top Government Officials Over ‘Fake Agency’ Scandal
The Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) has watched with deep shock, profound disappointment and growing national embarrassment the unfolding scandal surrounding the purported Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, an agency now publicly described by the Presidency as “fake” or “fictitious” despite its inclusion in the 2026 Appropriation Act signed into law by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
What should ordinarily have been a straightforward case of administrative correction has now snowballed into one of the greatest self-inflicted international embarrassments in Nigeria’s democratic history due to the incompetence and poor crisis management displayed by the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government.
The CNPP states unequivocally that if Nigeria were a serious country with functioning institutions and a culture of accountability, heads of critical government agencies and top political appointees implicated by this scandal would have already resigned or been immediately relieved of their duties pending investigations.
Nigerians have been told that, for months, one Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew allegedly operated a federal agency that did not exist; occupied office space within the Federal Secretariat in Abuja; allegedly held meetings with ambassadors and foreign nationals; corresponded with government institutions; and allegedly opened bank accounts, including one with the Central Bank of Nigeria, all under the guise of being the Director-General of the so-called Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council.
The matter became even more disturbing when documents emerged showing that this same supposedly “non-existent” agency was captured in the 2026 Appropriation Act with over N1.3 billion in budgetary allocations, including funds for salaries, allowances and even a proposed World Investment Summit.
This is not merely a scandal; it is an indictment of the entire machinery of government.
A federal budget does not write itself. Budgetary allocations do not mysteriously descend from heaven. Every line item in the national budget passes through rigorous bureaucratic and political processes. The budget is prepared by the executive, scrutinized by the Federal Executive Council chaired by the President, presented to the National Assembly by the President, debated and approved by lawmakers, and eventually signed into law by the President.
Consequently, the Federal Government cannot, in one breath, sign an Appropriation Act containing an agency and, in another breath, issue a press statement declaring the same agency “fake,” “illegal” or “non-existent.”
Such conduct portrays Nigeria as a nation that neither understands nor respects its own laws and constitutional processes.
The CNPP insists that by virtue of its inclusion in the 2026 Appropriation Act and the presidential assent granted to that Act, the agency acquired legal recognition for the purpose of the budget year unless and until the relevant provisions of the law are amended or repealed by the National Assembly.
No government can invalidate an Act of Parliament through a press statement. No presidential aide has the constitutional authority to nullify a duly enacted law by mere public declaration.
The Federal Government may choose to discontinue the operations of the agency or scrap it altogether, but it cannot lawfully declare an agency contained in a subsisting Act of Parliament as “fake.” To do so is to ridicule the National Assembly, undermine the sanctity of the country’s laws and project Nigeria before the international community as a Banana Republic where state institutions have collapsed.
Even more embarrassing is the manner in which this scandal has been handled.
A competent and responsible administration with effective crisis-management mechanisms would simply have announced the scrapping of the agency, initiated an immediate investigation and transmitted an Executive Bill to the National Assembly seeking an amendment to the 2026 Appropriation Act to reflect the government’s decision.
That would have demonstrated leadership, responsibility and respect for constitutional processes.
Instead, the APC-led Federal Government chose a path that has embarrassed Nigeria internationally, amplified doubts about the country’s institutional credibility and further strengthened the already negative global perception of Nigeria as a corruption-prone nation.
Foreign investors and international partners are now asking uncomfortable questions. If a supposedly non-existent agency can find its way into a signed federal budget, what other questionable entities are hidden in government finances? If an allegedly fictitious agency could secure office space inside the Federal Secretariat and interface with key government institutions, what does that say about Nigeria’s governance systems? If an allegedly fake agency could pass through the Budget Office, the Federal Executive Council, the National Assembly and receive presidential assent, where exactly are the safeguards that government repeatedly boasts about?
These are not opposition questions; they are governance questions.
The real scandal is no longer about one individual standing trial. The real scandal is the failure of institutions. The real scandal is the incompetence of those entrusted with the administration of the country. The real scandal is the network of officials whose actions and inactions allegedly legitimized a purportedly non-existent agency.
Accordingly, the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties hereby demands the immediate sack or resignation of all public officers whose actions and inactions enabled this monumental national embarrassment, including:
1. The Chief of Staff to the President.
2. The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, if indeed an account was opened for a purported non-existent agency under the watch of the apex bank.
3. Relevant officials in the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.
4. Relevant officials in the Budget Office of the Federation.
5. Members of the Federal Executive Council who reviewed and approved the budget proposal.
6. Ministers and heads of agencies who processed or interacted with documents relating to the agency.
7. Principal officers and committee chairmen in the National Assembly who handled the budget process and failed to detect the alleged anomaly.
The CNPP states further that should President Bola Ahmed Tinubu fail to immediately relieve these officials of their positions and commence a transparent process of accountability, then he must take full responsibility for this unprecedented governance failure and tender his resignation.
As Chairman of the Federal Executive Council that scrutinized the budget proposal and as the President who personally signed the 2026 Appropriation Act into law, President Tinubu cannot escape responsibility for this monumental national embarrassment.
In every functional democracy, leadership comes with responsibility and accountability. The buck stops on the President’s table.
The CNPP therefore demands:
1. The immediate sack or resignation of all top officials connected to the scandal.
2. The immediate scrapping of the agency in question.
3. The transmission of an Executive Bill to the National Assembly seeking urgent amendment of the 2026 Appropriation Act to remove all budgetary allocations relating to the agency.
4. The establishment of an independent judicial commission of inquiry to unravel the circumstances that led to this scandal.
5. The publication of all records relating to the agency’s inclusion in the budget and its interactions with government institutions.
6. The prosecution of all persons found culpable, irrespective of their status or political office.
7. The resignation of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu should he fail to hold those responsible accountable and accept responsibility for the institutional collapse that has brought Nigeria into international disrepute.
Nigeria cannot continue to be governed in a manner that exposes the country to ridicule before the international community and reinforces the damaging global perception that corruption has become institutionalized within the country’s public sector.
A country that punishes only the alleged frontman while shielding the powerful enablers behind the scenes is not fighting corruption; it is merely managing corruption.
This scandal has become a defining moment for the APC administration.
The Nigerian people deserve answers. They deserve accountability. They deserve leaders who respect the laws of the land and protect the integrity of state institutions. Above all, they deserve a government that will not turn the country into a global symbol of institutional failure and administrative incompetence.
