By Ayo Ayodele
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has uncovered two additional fake government agencies allegedly operated by the self-styled Director-General of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), Adeniyi Matthew Adeyemi, as investigations into the scandal deepen.
ICPC Chairman, Musa Adamu Aliyu, disclosed this after submitting the commission’s interim investigation report to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
According to the report, Adeyemi was never appointed by the Federal Government, while the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council, later renamed the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), was never established by any law or executive order.
The commission said the appointment letter presented by Adeyemi was forged and that the fake agency unlawfully took over offices and official instruments belonging to the defunct Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC).
ICPC further revealed that the fraudulent organisation engaged in widespread impersonation, false representation and other illegal activities by exploiting gaps in inter-agency verification procedures.
Investigators also uncovered two additional fictitious agencies—the FCT Investment Promotion Agency (PIFA) and the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency (PIPA)—which were allegedly created using forged legislative documents and used to open bank accounts for unlawful operations.
Aliyu said Adeyemi later changed the agency’s name from the Foreign Investment Promotion Council to the Foreign Intervention Promotion Council and sought to expand its mandate to include revenue generation.
The ICPC, however, stressed that no public funds were approved or disbursed to the fake PFIPC/PEAC and found no evidence of weaknesses in the financial control systems of either the State House or the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The commission recommended Adeyemi’s prosecution, administrative sanctions against public officials who facilitated the illegal operation, and reforms to strengthen internal controls and verification mechanisms across government institutions.
Officials from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, the Office of the Accountant-General, the Budget Office and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) were identified as collaborators under investigation.
Aliyu said the report remains interim and that investigations are continuing to uncover additional evidence and collaborators before criminal charges are filed.
He added that President Tinubu has taken note of the findings and reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to transparency, accountability and institutional integrity.