The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has expressed disapproval after a motivational speaker demanded $18,000 for a mentorship programme.
The spokesperson for the EFCC, Dele Oyewale, warned Nigerians against investing their money in schemes that could put them in trouble.
The fee, equivalent to nearly N30m, sparked debates on social media with some users slamming the poster, Stephen Akintayo.
Checks by our correspondent revealed that the flyer of the programme contained no account details and people who expressed interest were instructed to send a private message.
On Wednesday, April 23, 2025, Akintayo posted on his Facebook page that he had 10 slots for a one-on-one mentorship and access programme for $18,000, adding that N2.5m could be paid on the day the post was made, and the balance spread over 12 months.
In the post, the investment coach made several promises, including access to a billionaire coaching community and 45 of his books.
Reacting, Oyewale said, “There is a trace of a Ponzi scheme in that arrangement. People need to be careful about where they put their money.”
He also noted that it was unlawful to charge in dollars, adding that the EFCC frowned upon such an act.
“It is not proper to charge in dollars. One of the campaigns we are doing is against the dollarisation of our economy. For anyone to offer a mentorship programme in dollars is a violation of the laws of the land,” he added.
Nigerians on social media also expressed mixed reactions to the matter.
Criticising the scheme, a Facebook user, Okey Mbah, said anyone who could afford the requested amount didn’t need mentorship from investment coaches.
He said, “He/she only needs to focus and double down on what produced that income, while reading books and going for events. Do you know how many plots of land $18k can get in different parts of Nigeria or how much yield in FG Treasury Bonds that money can produce in a year or six months?”
“That’s what someone bold-facedly is asking for as a ‘mentorship’ fee and some people with low self-esteem and intelligence issues will pay and later regret. What audacity! Whatever this man has to impart as a mentor is available in books somewhere. One only has to search and look for such books.”
Another user, Francis Njemanze, lamented the monetisation of the mentorship programme
He said, “The problem l have with Dr Stephen is always on monetisation. Last time he offered me a sponsorship ticket to a conference for N300k and yet called it sponsorship. And now asking for $18k for mentorship, i.e. an equivalent of almost N30m.”
Njemanze stated that there was no need for mentorship if someone had that much money for registration.
“The young people you claim to always want to help ‘succeed’ cannot afford this money and so do many startups,” he added.
Also, a human rights advocate, Charles Ogbu, claimed that the author had shown “zero record of anyone who has ever become a billionaire just by passing through your mentorship.”
“Yet, you come publicly to ask people to pay you nearly 30 million naira so you mentor them to become billionaires,” he added.
But other users lauded Akintayo for the initiative.
One Bukat Grills said it was affordable compared to the value and network that those who subscribed to it would get.
Grills stated, “I have seen people who have gone through your mentorship and they are doing very well in their respective fields.”
Another user, Udeme Udeme, wrote, “I have heard so many good things about your mentorship programme. No amount is too much for knowledge and access.”
A user, Acha Emmanuel Adiele, showed interest and requested to make a payment.
An economist and financial expert, Dr Aliyu Ilias, said that when state actors failed to do the needful, non-state actors would take advantage.
“Using over N30 million for mentorship is outrageous, and for economic reasons it will make people embark on an insincere source of looking for money,” he added.
Meanwhile, one of the resource persons who identified herself as Victoria, said the programme was to make lives better.
Victoria stated, “Dr Stephen has been generous with his knowledge; he doesn’t hide anything. He tries to give out as much as possible. There are free ones and paid versions. Just as they say, ‘you don’t pay attention until you pay sometimes’.”
Saturday PUNCH called three phone numbers attached to the programme flier, but efforts to get Akintayo to respond proved abortive.
Questions sent to two other contacts were not replied to.
Rather, the users referred the reporter to different persons who refused to speak as of the time of filing this report.
