The Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) has recommended the prosecution of Adeniyi Adeyemi, the promoter of the fictitious Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), after an investigation established that he and the organisation had no legal backing from the Federal Government.
The commission also uncovered two additional fictitious government agencies allegedly created by the suspect and identified institutional lapses across several ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) that enabled the fraud.
Dr Musa Adamu Aliyu, the ICPC chairman, disclosed this yesterday after presenting an interim report to President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, and later briefing journalists.
The report was submitted exactly 30 days after President Tinubu directed the anti-corruption agency to investigate the activities of the fake organisation.
Forged appointment and gazette
According to Mr Aliyu, investigations established that Mr Adeyemi was never appointed by the Federal Government or any authorised government institution, and that the so-called PFIPC, also referred to as the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, was never established by any law, executive order or other valid instrument of government.
‘The appointment letter presented by Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew was completely forged, alongside similar documents used to perpetrate the illegal activities of the fake agency,’ he said.
The gazette on which the suspect relied to legitimise the organisation was also forged, and had never undergone the legal processes required for government publications.
The ICPC chairman said the suspect unlawfully appropriated the identity and office of the defunct Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC), allegedly breaking into the office and using it as the fictitious organisation’s operational base.
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Investigators uncovered widespread impersonation, false representation and other illegal activities carried out in the name of the fake agency.
Two more fictitious agencies
Mr Aliyu further disclosed that the probe uncovered two additional fictitious agencies allegedly floated by the suspect: the Foreign Capital and Wealth Investment Promotion Agency (FCWIPA) and the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency/Public-Private Partnership (FIPA-PPP).
According to him, forged legislative instruments styled as enabling Acts were used to create the agencies and facilitate the opening of commercial bank accounts through which their activities were conducted.
Institutional lapses
The ICPC also revealed that procedural and administrative lapses across several key MDAs created opportunities allegedly exploited by Mr Adeyemi. The commission, however, stressed that its findings do not suggest official complicity by the affected institutions but point to weaknesses in internal processes that require urgent reforms.
The ICPC chairman identified the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF), the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HoSF), the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF), the Budget Office of the Federation, and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) among agencies where procedural weaknesses were uncovered. According to Mr Aliyu, the institutional gaps enabled the suspect to operate the fictitious organisation and carry out the alleged illegal activities before the scheme was uncovered.
N400m allegation
On allegations involving about N400 million allegedly linked to the case, Mr Aliyu declined to comment, insisting it would be inappropriate to discuss matters expected to form part of the prosecution. ‘I don’t want to go into that allegation because it is part of the criminal investigation. Once we conclude our work and the matter goes to court, Nigerians will see what our investigation uncovered,’ he said.
He said the commission would, however, recommend measures to strengthen internal controls, tighten verification procedures and improve coordination across government institutions to prevent similar abuses in the future, even as it prepares to file criminal charges against the alleged promoter.
FRSC questioned over number plates
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee investigating the alleged PFIPC yesterday questioned the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) over its decision to rely on documents listing President Tinubu and several top government officials as members of the organisation’s governing board before issuing it official Federal Government vehicle number plates.
The issue arose during the appearance of the Corps Marshal and Chief Executive of the FRSC, Shehu Mohammed, before the committee chaired by Yusuf Gagdi. The committee chairman asked Mr Mohammed whether the document formed part of the application submitted to the FRSC. Mr Mohammed answered in the affirmative, confirming that the mandate was among the documents presented by the organisation during its application for official government vehicle number plates.
Mr Gagdi expressed concern that the contents of the document should have immediately raised suspicion within the FRSC’s verification process.
State House denies budget code request
However, the State House has denied authoring any correspondence to the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) seeking the creation of a budget code for the alleged PFIPC, describing the documents linking it to the controversial body as forged. The denial came yesterday during the continuation of the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee’s investigation into the alleged unlawful creation and operation of the PFIPC.
The Director of Administration at the State House, AbdulKadir Idris, insisted that neither the Permanent Secretary nor any official of the Presidency requested the Accountant-General to generate a budget code for the council. Mr Idris, who represented the Permanent Secretary, State House, Temitope Peter Fashedemi, told lawmakers that the State House had no knowledge of the PFIPC until the matter surfaced in the media and the institution was invited by the Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre.
