Adeyemi Adeniyi, the director-general of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, who accused the chief of staff to the president, Femi Gbajabiamila, of collecting a bribe in exchange for his appointment, said he borrowed the N400 million he used to buy his appointment.

Mr Adeyemi, in an interview with Channels TV on Monday, doubled down on his earlier claim that Mr Gbajabiamila had collected a bribe of N400 million in exchange for his appointment as director of the agency, a claim now dismissed as fake.

“I borrowed this money (N400 million),” Mr Adeyemi said when asked how he raised the funds. “In fact, those that I borrowed this N400 million from have reported to the EFCC. I borrowed the money to pay for this appointment. I’m even yet to repay the money.”

When asked about allegations that he once paraded himself as a United Nations ambassador, Mr Adeyemi said, “It is all sponsored. It is a campaign of calumny.”

Before now, Mr Adeyemi had, at a press conference, accused Mr Gbajabiamila of collecting N400 million through a proxy and demanding an additional N200 million to secure the appointment.

The presidency dismissed Mr Adeyemi’s allegation, claiming he is heading a fictitious agency, though evidence shows his agency received funding from the annual budget and had office space in the federal secretariat in Abuja.

Last week, amid public outrage trailing Mr Adeyemi’s allegations, President Bola Tinubu ordered the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate Mr Gbajabiamila and others allegedly involved in the PFIPC bribery and forgery scandal.

While Mr Adeyemi’s allegations against Mr Gbajabiamila are yet to be resolved, Peoples Gazette on Monday exclusively reported how Mr Gbajabiamila used fake law to corner N54 billion oil revenue from NUPRC.