Buhari’s minister questions presidency’s defence of Gbajabiamila over fake agency

Former Minister of Youth and Sports Solomon Dalung has criticised the Presidency’s defence of Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, over the alleged activities of Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, saying the official explanation raises more questions than it answers.

Reacting to a statement issued by Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga, Dalung argued that while the Presidency attempted to clear Gbajabiamila of any wrongdoing, it inadvertently exposed what he described as serious gaps in government oversight.

According to him, even if all allegations against Adeyemi are eventually proven in court, the Presidency still owes Nigerians explanations on how a supposedly fictitious presidential agency allegedly operated within government circles.

Dalung questioned how an individual could allegedly create a fake government agency, forge an appointment letter, operate from the Federal Secretariat, recruit staff, engage government institutions, meet with diplomats and reportedly secure a Central Bank of Nigeria account without detection.

He also raised concerns over reports that the purported agency appeared in the national budget, arguing that budgetary allocations pass through several stages of executive and legislative scrutiny.

“If the council was fake, explain how it entered the budget,” Dalung said, adding that the Presidency failed to address who introduced the budget line, processed it and approved it.

He further queried how office space was allegedly obtained at the Federal Secretariat, asking which authority approved the allocation and why the operation was not detected earlier.

Dalung also pointed to the Presidency’s reference to Dolapo Babatunde Tanimola, whom investigators said Adeyemi identified as the person who helped procure the alleged forged appointment letter before reportedly dying in a hotel fire days before Adeyemi’s arrest.

He questioned whether investigators examined the circumstances surrounding Tanimola’s death, including whether an autopsy, coroner’s inquest or forensic examination of his communications and financial records was carried out.

While acknowledging that the allegations against Adeyemi are before the court, Dalung maintained that accountability should extend beyond prosecuting one individual to explaining how government institutions allegedly interacted with or failed to detect what the Presidency now describes as a fictitious agency.

He called on the Presidency to provide documentary evidence, timelines and records addressing the alleged inclusion of the agency in the budget, its operation within the Federal Secretariat and the apparent failure of institutional safeguards.