***says Gbajabiamila was latest target of alleged fraudster, seeks prosecution of collaborators

The Presidency on Friday defended the Federal Government’s internal control mechanisms, saying the alleged fake Presidential council scam linked to Adeyemi Adeniyi Matthew was uncovered through existing institutional safeguards, contrary to claims of a systemic failure.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, stated this in a post on his X handle while responding to public reactions over the alleged fraud.

Ajayi said critics had focused on how the suspect allegedly operated for so long but overlooked the fact that the same government institutions eventually detected the irregularities and triggered the process that exposed the scheme.

He alleged that Matthew was attempting to divert attention from the criminal investigation by exploiting public perception and falsely associating the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President with his activities.

According to Ajayi, the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, was “simply his last straw” in what he described as the suspect’s fraudulent enterprise.

“In Nigeria, the easiest and most believable allegation anyone can throw at a public officer is corruption. Once that accusation is thrown into the mix, the water is polluted, the lines are blurred and everyone is kept busy arguing over distractions rather than the real issues,” Ajayi wrote.

He maintained that while questions over the apparent ease with which the alleged fraud was executed were legitimate, it was important to recognise that the government’s internal control system ultimately identified the anomaly.

According to him, officials of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), working with officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, detected inconsistencies surrounding the suspect’s activities and referred the matter to the appropriate authorities for clarification.

“Contrary to the anything-goes narrative being promoted, it was the system itself that raised the red flag and dealt with it administratively,” Ajayi stated.

The presidential spokesman, however, acknowledged that the alleged fraud could not have been carried out without internal collaborators.

He called on the Department of State Services (DSS), the Nigeria Police Force and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to identify and prosecute all those who facilitated the scheme.

“What is not in doubt is that internal collaborators enabled Adeniyi to get this far. That is precisely what investigators from the DSS, the Police and the EFCC must now unravel. The criminal network within the affected institutions must be dismantled and everyone found to have played a role should be arrested and prosecuted,” he said.

Ajayi stressed that the focus should remain on dismantling the criminal network behind the alleged fraud and ensuring that all those found culpable are brought to justice.