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• Indicts SGF, Head of Service, Budget Office, NITDA over lapses in fake agency scandal
By From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) said it has uncovered two additional fictitious government agencies allegedly created by Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, the suspected mastermind behind the fake Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC).
The commission also recommended his prosecution after its investigation established that he allegedly forged presidential documents, fabricated government instruments and unlawfully occupied a government office to operate the fake agency.
Chairman of the ICPC, Musa Aliyu, disclosed the findings yesterday while briefing State House Correspondents after presenting an interim investigative report to President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The investigation followed a 30-day directive issued by the President on July 7 after allegations emerged over the activities of the purported presidential agency.
Aliyu said the commission discovered that, in addition to the PFIPC, Adeyemi allegedly created the FCT Investment Promotion Agency (FIPA) and the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency/Public-Private Partnership (FIPA-PPP). “The ICPC also discovered that Adeniyi Adeyemi created two additional fictitious government agencies apart from the one already known in the public domain.” Aliyu explained that the suspect allegedly used fabricated legislative instruments, presented as enabling laws, to give the fictitious agencies an appearance of legitimacy and relied on them to open bank accounts with a commercial bank.
The ICPC chairman said investigations established that Adeyemi was never appointed by the Federal Government or any authorised government institution, adding that the PFIPC itself had no legal existence.
“It has been established that Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew was never appointed by the Federal Government or any authority whatsoever.
“The Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council, which sometimes they called the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, was never established by any law, executive order or any valid instrument of government,” he said.
According to Aliyu, the appointment letter presented by Adeyemi was forged, while a purported government gazette used to support the existence of the agency was also fabricated.
He said the document did not pass through the statutory procedures required for the issuance of government gazettes.
The ICPC chairman further disclosed that Adeyemi allegedly gained illegal access to the former office of the defunct Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC), which he used as an operational base for the fake organisation.
“Our investigation found that the office used by the fake agency was the office of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council. The office was broken into and access was gained illegally. That was how he was able to operate from there.”
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Aliyu added that the suspect allegedly appropriated the identity and operational materials of the former council to create the impression that the organisation was an official government institution.
Despite the alleged sophistication of the scheme, Aliyu said the investigation found no evidence that Federal Government funds were released to the fake agency. “Our investigation found that no funds of the Federal Government were approved or disbursed to the fake PFIPC.”
He also absolved the Presidency and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) of any direct involvement, noting that the forged appointment letter did not originate from either institution.
However, the commission identified lapses in several Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), which it said enabled the alleged fraud to continue.
Aliyu listed the affected institutions to include the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, the Budget Office and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).
He said some officials failed to conduct adequate verification and due diligence, while weaknesses in internal controls and inter-agency coordination created room for exploitation.
The ICPC chairman said the commission had recommended the prosecution of Adeyemi, administrative sanctions against public officers whose negligence contributed to the situation, and reforms aimed at strengthening verification procedures across government institutions.
“Our recommendations are that Mr. Adeniyi Adeyemi should be prosecuted. Administrative sanctions should be imposed on public officers whose acts of omission and negligence facilitated the illegal operation of the fake agency.
“We also recommended institutional reforms to strengthen internal controls across MDAs to block this kind of illegal activity,” he said.
Aliyu confirmed that Adeyemi had been invited by investigators and had made statements to the commission, adding that investigations were still ongoing to identify possible collaborators and gather additional evidence.
He declined to comment on allegations involving about N400 million, saying the matter remained part of an active criminal investigation.
The ICPC chairman said the commission would continue working on the case to ensure that any charges eventually filed would stand the test of time before a competent court.
