By Seun Ibiyemi
The House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee investigating the controversial Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) has absolved the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, of any involvement in the establishment or operation of the alleged fraudulent agency.
The committee, chaired by Rep. Yusuf Adamu Gagdi, disclosed in its preliminary findings that the PFIPC was never lawfully created by the Federal Government.
According to the committee, the operators of the alleged fake agency relied on forged, altered and fabricated instruments to falsely claim presidential and legislative backing.
One of the documents was an appointment letter naming Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi as the council’s Director-General, which purportedly bore Gbajabiamila’s signature.
The committee said State House records confirmed that no such appointment was ever made, adding that the letterhead and reference numbers were counterfeit and that the formatting differed significantly from authentic presidential correspondence.
Rather than sanctioning the scheme, the committee said records showed that Gbajabiamila initiated security investigations into the alleged fraud.
“Within twenty-four hours of receiving an alert from the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) concerning fraudulent activities, the Chief of Staff petitioned the Nigeria Police Force, the Office of the National Security Adviser, the Department of State Services (DSS), and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to intervene,” Gagdi said.
The committee commended Gbajabiamila’s prompt administrative actions, stating that it found no evidence linking him to the scheme.
The investigation also uncovered an alleged fraudulent Presidential Executive Order No. 5, dated February 24, 2026, alongside a heavily altered document presented as an Act of the National Assembly.
The committee said electronic analysis revealed that sections of legislation belonging to an entirely different institution had been altered to falsely manufacture statutory backing for the agency.
It further disclosed that a November 2024 letter bearing the fictitious name and title of a nonexistent State House official was submitted to the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation to illegally secure an official administrative code.
The panel flagged severe institutional lapses that allegedly enabled the enterprise to operate within official spaces.
It said the Budget Office of the Federation and the Office of the Accountant-General were under scrutiny for recognizing the entity and dispatching sensitive documentation directly to unauthorized persons without proper procedural verification.
The committee also said the organization illegally occupied office space within the Federal Secretariat Complex through unauthorized allocations previously assigned to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
According to the findings, the location was used to project legitimacy, recruit 39 staff members and allegedly charge applicants illicit recruitment fees.
The investigation further linked Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, who also used the alias Adeyemi Matthew, to approximately 58 bank accounts, more than 30 of which were operated under various corporate and charitable names.
The committee said it was tracking a N400 million transaction paid to Adeyemi in four instalments by a private firm that was allegedly promised a renovation contract for his purported official quarters.
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The company claimed it was induced to make the payments after being promised a contract involving the renovation, furnishing or improvement of a residence allegedly allocated to Adeyemi in his claimed official capacity.
The panel said it was tracing the payment destinations, account holders and beneficial owners while investigating the ownership and status of the property allegedly presented as the official residence.
It stressed that criminal guilt had not been established and that all persons affected remained entitled to fair hearing and due process.
Emphasising that the falsification of sovereign instruments poses a grave threat to constitutional order, the committee warned that neither the Presidency nor the National Assembly could be impersonated with impunity.
The lawmakers recommended that anti-graft agencies conclude their investigations, freeze illicitly obtained assets and prosecute the perpetrators once the House finalises its comprehensive report.
