Follow Us on Google
From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
The House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee investigating the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) has directed the Inspector General of Police ( IGP), Tunji Disu, to produce the Director General of the agency, Adeniyi Adeyemi, before it tomorrow.
Chairman of the panel, Yusuf Gagdi, gave the directive, at the resumed hearing of the probe of how the PFIPC, which the Presidency has disowned, got into the 2026 Appropriation Act as well as other activities of the “phantom” agency.
The IGP, represented by an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Bashir Abdullahi, at the investigative hearing, confirmed to Ad-hoc Committee that the police is investigating allegations against Adeyemi, following petitions from Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu and has filed a suit against him.
The police boss noted that “the Nigerian Police Force investigated part of this case late last year and filed eight-count charges before a Federal High Court. The case is ongoing.
“We don’t want to say things that are under investigation. It is definitely going to prejudice the ongoing investigation and make people have opinions that may prejudge the outcome of an investigation or judicial decision.”
Gagdi, in his ruling after the submission by the IGP, said it has become imperative for Adeyemi to appear before the panel tomorrow, to speak to some of the documents before the Ad-hoc Committee in respect to the ongoing probe.
“This committee clearly needs the suspected DG to appear before this committee. People’s names are involved. People’s integrity is involved. Institutional names are involved. Institutional integrity is involved.
“It is not an option now. We will need him here to confirm some documents to us in such a way that will not undermine our investigation to enable us to submit our report on time. The committee hereby resolves that the Inspector-General of Police of do kindly present Mr. Adeyemi Mathew on Wednesday by 12 noon. That is the ruling of the committee.”
The PFIPC has been in the news, in recent times, after the Presidency disowned the agency, amid revelations that the agency got N1.3billion appropriation in the 2026 budget, as well as opened accounts with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
While the CBN, during its appearance before the probe panel stated that two domiciliary accounts were opened for the agency based on the mandate of the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF), the Budget Office of the Federation, also told lawmakers that the PFIPC was included in the 2026 Appropriation based on an administrative code created for it by the OAGF.
The Accountant General of the Federation, Shamsideen Ogunjimi, who also appeared before the panel, yesterday, confirmed that his office issued an administrative code to the PFIPC based on which it was included in the 2026 Appropriation Act.
However, Ogunjimi explained that his office acted based on a correspondence from the State House, requesting the creation of administrative code for the “phantom” agency, adding that the correspondence later turned out to be fake.
The Accountant General, who was speaking on “the circumstances surrounding the establishment, operation and budgetary inclusion of the Presidential Advisory Economic Council/ the PFIPC,” noted the first interface that this fake agency had with my office took effect in November 2024, even before I assumed office.”
He added that “administrative, code creation: a letter with reference number SH/PFIPC/ RQ107dated 7th November 2024 was received purportedly from the State House requesting the creation of an administrative code for the Presidential Economic Advisory Council for the purpose of budgeting, accounting and reporting.
“The administrative code no 0111062001 was created for the council. And a letter of conveyance with reference no OAGF/CAB/NCIS/02/VolV6727 created 29 November 2024 was issued to the State House and copied to the Budget Office of the Federation. Meaning that there was a letter using State House letterhead to OAGF requesting for an administrative code to be created. OAGF responded, giving that administrative code and sent a letter to the State about the creation as requested. The same was also sent to budget Office that is the procedure we usually follow.”
The Accountant General also admitted that though the PFIPC requested the deployment of five staff from his office, the Treasury approved only three because officials considered the organisation too small to justify the number requested.
However, Ogunjimi, while responding to lawmakers’ query, on the response from the State House, following his reply to the earlier correspondence, said the letter from his Office was hijacked.
According to him, “the letter that was received by the Treasury… was respectfully addressed as coming from the State House. That letter was never issued by the State House.”
Ogunjimi, while responding to queries on the deployment of staff from his office to the PFIPC, explained that that two officers deployed to the Office of the Chief Economic Adviser in 2010 and 2013 remained there after the office was allegedly taken over by “phantom “agency without notifying the OAGF.
“It was never assumed or written to us that those two officers were being taken over.The staff also never reported to the office to say that another council had taken over the office and the name had changed.
“It was when all this matter came to light that I got to know that two of our staff were actually working or being absorbed by the agency. We never knew. We believed, based on the records available to us, that those officers were still with the Office of the Chief Economic Adviser,” he said.
