A businessman, Gbenga Collins, has narrated before the House of Representatives how he was allegedly swindled of N400 million by a man who paraded himself as the director-general of a non-existent federal agency, using official government offices, security details, and vehicles bearing federal number plates to build an air of legitimacy.
Mr Collins, managing director of Divine Dopacy Nigeria Limited, appeared Tuesday before the House Ad-hoc Committee probing the alleged Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), chaired by Yusuf Gagdi (APC, Plateau).
Their paths first crossed in December 2024 at an event in Ogbomoso, Oyo State — their shared hometown. By early 2025, Mr Adeyemi had invited him to Abuja to discuss a “government contract.”
What greeted him at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport was the first of many convincing details. “When I arrived at the airport, he sent an official car to come and pick me from the airport to his office at the Federal Secretariat, Abuja,” Mr Collins told the lawmakers. “It was a Lexus SUV with a federal government registration number.”
At the Federal Secretariat office, the scene appeared authentic. “I saw police officers with him. That was my first time coming to Abuja because I’m not familiar with Abuja very well,” he said. “I met many dignitaries, people waiting to see him, and others with whom he was in discussions about contracts.”
Mr Adeyemi allegedly claimed to head both the Presidential Economic Advisory Council and the PFIPC. Soon, he offered Mr Collins a contract to renovate and furnish an official residence assigned to him as director-general.
The inspection was theatrical. “He took me to the house to show me the property because I slept in Abuja. We went there the following day with his staff. We went with more than four, five or six vehicles with security. They opened the house and took us round, showing me what they wanted to do,” Mr Collins recalled.
By April 2025, the paperwork arrived — a contract award letter, scope of work, and an agreement. Then came the demand. “I had to pay N400 million for the facilitation of that project to show my strength that I would be able to handle the project. At the same time, he said it would fast-track the mobilisation for the contract,” he testified.
Between May and July 2025, Mr Collins made five payments. Three tranches of N100 million each landed in a Guaranty Trust Bank account belonging to World Entrepreneurs Limited on 16 May, 22 May, and 28 May. An N80 million payment followed on 20 June. When he told Mr Adeyemi he was financially drained, the alleged fraudster directed the final N20 million to an Access Bank account held by Sunshine Confectionery and Catering Services on 29 July.
The money did not come from his own pocket alone. “When I was paying the money, I kept telling him that I collected the money from my colleagues who were doing business with me. I was the one who told them I had gone to this man’s office, so I believed it was going to be a great opportunity for us. That was why people started giving me the money,” he said.
The promised mobilisation for August 2025 never came. Instead, excuses piled up. “He kept managing me, telling me they were handling security issues and that they would pay in November,” Mr Collins said. When the calls went unanswered and the doors remained shut, he consulted a lawyer in Abuja. “My lawyer was the first person who told me that I had been scammed.”
An EFCC petition followed on 13 November 2025, which he adopted on 19 November. Since then, Mr Adeyemi has allegedly dodged EFCC invitations, sending his lawyer to cite ill health.
The fallout has been devastating. “I just want to beg the chairman and the honourable members to help me talk to all the agencies involved because I have been frustrated, especially by those people who gave me the money. I have started selling my property. My business is not going well again,” he pleaded.
Pressed by Mr Gagdi on whether the N400 million was a bribe, Mr Collins rejected the label, insisting it was framed as a financial capacity requirement and mobilisation fee. He conceded, however, that no public procurement process was followed.
The committee has summoned the FRSC Corps Marshal to explain how vehicles linked to the fake council obtained federal government number plates — the very detail that sealed Mr Collins’s trust.
Mr Gagdi explained that Mr Adeyemi remains in police custody under a court order, preventing his public appearance before the panel. “As an arm of government, we respect the principle of federalism and separation of powers. We do not have the power as the National Assembly to vacate an existing court order,” he said.
He added that the committee would still question Mr Adeyemi, but at an undisclosed time and place to avoid interfering with parallel investigations by the EFCC and ICPC. “Whether he appears before this committee or this committee appears before him, the most important thing is to have an interaction with him to get some things clarified. And we are going to do just that,” Mr Gagdi stated.
The hearing continues Thursday.
