I Paid N400m to ‘Fake’ Agency DG for Contract, Businessman Tells House C’ttee

Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

The Managing Director of Divine Dopacy Nigeria Limited, Mr. Gbenga Collins, has revealed that he paid N400 million to the Director-General of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), Adeniyi Adeyemi, after being promised a contract to renovate and furnish the official residence of the embattled executive.

Collins made this known yesterday in Abuja when he appeared before the House of Representatives  Ad-hoc Committee investigating the alleged establishment and activities of the PFIPC, chaired by Hon. Yusuf Gagdi.

He told the committee that he first met Adeyemi in Ogbomoso in December 2024 during a programme in their hometown.

According to him, Adeyemi subsequently invited him to Abuja around January or February 2025 to discuss a business opportunity.

Collins revealed that on his arrival at the Abuja airport, an official vehicle was sent to pick him up and conveyed him to Adeyemi’s office at the Federal Secretariat.

He told lawmakers that Adeyemi presented himself as the Director-General of both the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC) and PFIPC.

“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.

“When I got to his office, I met him there. He is a well-known man in Ogbomoso. I met a lot of people, very big dignitaries in his office, and I met a group of security officers guarding the office,” Collins stated.

Collins stressed that the presence of security personnel, government vehicles and what appeared to be a functioning government office gave him no reason to doubt Adeyemi’s claims.

According to him, “I saw police officers with him. That was my first time of coming to Abuja because I’m not familiar with Abuja very well. He sent his official car to pick me from the airport. It had a federal government registration number attached to the Lexus SUV.

“Adeyemi subsequently informed him that he intended to renovate and furnish the official residence purportedly allocated to him as Director-General and offered his company the contract.”

Collins explained that Adeyemi personally took him to inspect the property the following day, accompanied by staff and security personnel.

He added: “He told me that he wanted to do refurbishment and renovation of the official house assigned to him as the DG of that agency and asked whether I would be able to handle the contract.

“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.”

Due to unfamiliarity with Abuja, Collins said  he could not recall the exact location of the property but added that  he still had photographs of the house.

He disclosed that discussions continued after returning to Ogbomoso until around April 2025, when Adeyemi invited him back to Abuja.

Collins said Adeyemi allegedly presented him with a contract award letter, scope of work and an agreement between the purported agency and Divine Dopacy Nigeria Limited for the refurbishment project.

“He gave me the contract award letter, the scope of work and the agreement with my company to execute the refurbishment project.

“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.”

Collins disclosed that he raised the money from business associates who trusted his judgment because he had personally visited Adeyemi’s office and was convinced that he was dealing with a genuine Federal Government agency.

According to him, the N400 million was paid in five installments between May and July 2025, saying the first N100 million was paid on May 16, 2025, into a Guaranty Trust Bank account belonging to World Entrepreneurs Limited.

Collins noted that another N100 million was paid into the same account on May 22, while a third N100 million payment followed on May 28.

He pointed out that  he subsequently paid another N80 million into the account on June 20, 2025, bringing the amount paid to World Entrepreneurs Limited to N380 million.

Collins stated that after exhausting his available resources, he informed Adeyemi that he could no longer raise additional funds.

He noted: “The outstanding N20 million was eventually paid on July 29, 2025, into an Access Bank account belonging to Sunshine Confectionery and Catering Services, bringing the total amount paid to N400 million.

“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.”

Collins said that after completing the payments, Adeyemi repeatedly assured him that mobilisation for the purported contract would commence in August 2025.

“When I finished the payment, he said they were going to do the mobilisation by August. Adeyemi subsequently attributed the delay to security-related issues and later assured him that payment would be made in November.

“I continued calling him. He kept managing me, telling me they were handling security issues and that they would pay in November.”

Collins further revealed that he made repeated trips to Abuja in search of Adeyemi as pressure mounted from the business associates who had contributed the funds, but eventually discovered that his calls were no longer being answered.

He said he subsequently consulted a lawyer in Abuja, noting that, “My lawyer was the first person who told me that I had been scammed,” he told the committee.

Collins disclosed that his lawyer petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on November 13, 2025, and that he was invited to formally adopt the petition on November 19.

He said the EFCC subsequently commenced investigations and invited individuals linked to the bank accounts into which the money was allegedly paid.

According to Collins, investigators informed him that Adeyemi repeatedly failed to honour invitations from the anti-graft agency, allegedly citing ill health through his lawyer.

“Since then, the EFCC has been trying to invite him. I think he has been sending his lawyer. According to the Investigating Police Officer handling the case, his lawyer kept saying he would appear.

“Since then, I have not heard anything further, but they are on top of the matter. The EFCC will be in the best position to handle the rest,” he said.