The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has uncovered two additional fictitious government agencies allegedly linked to Adeniyi Matthew Adeyemi, the self-acclaimed Director-General of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), as investigations into the suspected fraud continue.
ICPC Chairman, Musa Adamu Aliyu, disclosed the latest findings on Thursday after presenting the commission’s interim investigation report to President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
Aliyu said investigators confirmed that Adeyemi was never appointed by the Federal Government and that the PFIPC had no legal status, as it was neither established through an Act of the National Assembly nor created by an executive order.
According to the commission, the appointment letter used by Adeyemi was forged, while the fake PFIPC unlawfully occupied offices and appropriated official materials formerly used by the now-defunct Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC).
The ICPC chairman explained that the group operated from the former PEAC office, where it allegedly engaged in impersonation, false representation and other unlawful activities by exploiting weaknesses in inter-agency verification and coordination.
He said investigations also uncovered two more non-existent government agencies, the FCT Investment Promotion Agency and the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency, which were allegedly established using forged legislative documents.
“These agencies were created using forged legislative instruments and were used to open bank accounts for illegal activities,” Aliyu said.
The ICPC further revealed that Adeyemi later changed the name of the organisation from the Foreign Investment Promotion Council to the Foreign Intervention Promotion Council in what investigators believe was an attempt to expand its operations to include revenue generation.
Aliyu noted that the interim investigation found no evidence that public funds were approved or released to the fake PFIPC or PEAC.
He also stated that investigators did not identify any weaknesses in the systems of the State House or the Central Bank of Nigeria that enabled the scheme.
As part of its recommendations, the commission called for Adeyemi’s prosecution, disciplinary action against public officials suspected of facilitating the operation of the fake agency, and institutional reforms aimed at strengthening internal controls across government agencies.
The report identified officials from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF), the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, the Budget Office of the Federation and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) as alleged collaborators in the scheme.
Aliyu said the investigation remains ongoing and could lead to additional criminal charges.
“The report is interim and the investigation continues to uncover more details to file criminal charges against Adeyemi and his collaborators,” he said.
He added that President Tinubu had been briefed on the findings and reiterated his administration’s commitment to transparency, accountability and a thorough resolution of the case.
