By Ayodele Oni
Still communicating from his hideout, Adeniyi Adeyemi, Director-General of the “fake” Project Fund and Public Infrastructure and Finance Commission (PFIPC), has given condition under which he will make himself available for probe.
Adeyemi was billied to appear in Court on Monday for trial over allegation of forgery among others.
He requested from President Bola Tinubu for establishment of an independent panel to investigate the controversy surrounding the purported agency.
The controversial DG made the request in an open letter to the President dated July 13, 2026, where he argued that a multi-stakeholder investigation would guarantee transparency, impartiality and public confidence in the process.
Adeyemi urged Tinubu to constitute an independent investigative body comprising representatives of professional organisations, civil society groups, the media and international institutions.
He proposed the inclusion of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Amnesty International, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), human rights observers and independent media representatives.
He also suggested participation by representatives of the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the United Nations (UN), the United States (US), the United Kingdom (UK), the European Union (EU), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and the African Union (AU).
According to him, the ICPC and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) could serve as technical partners to the proposed panel.
“The moment this independent, multi-stakeholder panel is constituted, I will immediately step forward to present comprehensive documentation and verifiable evidence,”Adeyemi declared.
He maintained that institutions and officials connected to the issues under investigation should not exercise sole control over the inquiry.
“A system cannot credibly investigate itself when its own key actors are central to the discourse,”he said.
Adeyemi also called for a broader inquiry into the alleged insertion of a ₦1.3 billion allocation for the commission in the 2026 Appropriation Bill.
Adeyemi welcomed Tinubu’s reported directive to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate the matter, but maintained that the scope and structure of the inquiry should be expanded.
He said,“I write to you not as a fugitive evading accountability, but as a Nigerian citizen who maintains an unwavering belief in equity, justice, and the rule of law.
“I commend your recent directive tasking the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) with investigating the circumstances surrounding the PFIPC scandal and ₦1.3 billion allocation inserted into the 2026 Appropriation Bill.”
Adeyemi described the presidential directive as an important starting point but questioned whether the current investigative arrangement could deliver an impartial outcome.
“This directive is a vital first step, but the structural realities of this investigation compel me to speak out of a profound desire for absolute transparency,”he said.
According to him,“obtaining a truly impartial hearing presents severe structural challenges.”
He argued that official statements had focused mainly on calls for his arrest rather than the wider institutional and financial issues he claimed to have raised.
He wrote, “The public narrative emanating from official channels remains heavily weighted toward my immediate arrest, effectively overshadowing the gravity of the systemic vulnerabilities and high-level involvement I have brought to light.
“True accountability cannot be achieved when the agency conducting the investigation answers directly to the branch of government within which the core allegations lie.”
The accused PFIPC director-general also claimed that submitting himself to the authorities under the existing arrangement could expose him to danger.
He said, “Furthermore, I must state clearly that walking freely into custody under the current arrangement poses an immediate, existential threat to my life.
“I have received verified, highly reliable intelligence indicating that I am targeted for elimination the moment I surface in an unmonitored environment.”
Adeyemi did not publicly provide evidence supporting the alleged threat in the letter.
He said the perceived danger had compelled him to remain at what he described as a secure, undisclosed location while communicating with the government and the public.
Adeyemi linked his concerns to the reported death of Dolapo Babatunde Tanimola, whom he described as a key intermediary in the controversy.
He said official accounts indicated that Tanimola died during a fire incident at Kachi Hotel in Utako, Abuja, but claimed that the circumstances required independent examination.
“Official reports claim Mr Tanimola tragically died in a sudden fire incident at Kachi Hotel in Utako, Abuja. Yet, there remains a total absence of independent eyewitness or media verification of any such inferno,”he alleged.
Adeyemi further claimed that the hotel was later demolished under unclear circumstances.
He alleged that “the entire Kachi Hotel structure was swiftly invaded by unidentified armed actors and manually demolished down to the rubble days later,”thereby destroying what he described as a potential crime scene and material evidence.
“The claims concerning the fire, demolition and alleged threats have not been independently verified, he asserted.
