Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, will today inaugurate an ad hoc committee to investigate the controversial inclusion of the yet-to-be-established Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) in the 2026 Appropriation Act.
The move comes amid criticism over the committee’s decision not to invite the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, or the alleged self-styled PFIPC Director-General, Adeyemi Adeniyi, to testify.
The inauguration and public hearing will be held at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja under Sections 88 and 89 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which empower the National Assembly to investigate matters concerning public institutions and the use of public funds.
Chaired by the lawmaker representing Kanke/Kanam/Pankshin Federal Constituency of Plateau State, Yusuf Gagdi, the committee was constituted two weeks ago following a resolution adopted by the House during plenary presided over by Abbas.
The panel is mandated to investigate how budgetary allocations of about N1.32bn were made to the PFIPC despite the agency lacking legal establishment.
The investigation follows the arrest of Adeyemi Adeniyi, who allegedly posed as the Director-General of the PFIPC and is accused of facilitating the agency’s inclusion in the 2026 budget.
The controversy intensified after Adeniyi reportedly alleged that he paid N100m through intermediaries to Gbajabiamila to facilitate the creation of the agency. The Presidency and the Office of the Chief of Staff have denied the allegation.
According to an invitation signed by Gagdi and obtained by The PUNCH, the public hearing will bring together government officials, civil society organisations, professional bodies, development partners, the media and other stakeholders.
Those invited include the Ministers of Budget and Economic Planning, Finance, Industry, Trade and Investment, Justice, and Foreign Affairs.
Others expected are the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, the chairmen of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission and the Fiscal Responsibility Commission, as well as the Auditor-General for the Federation.
Also invited are the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission, the Director-General of the Department of State Services and the Inspector-General of Police.
The committee also called on interested stakeholders, professional bodies, civil society organisations and members of the public to submit memoranda relating to its terms of reference.
The panel is expected to establish how the PFIPC was inserted into the 2026 budget despite lacking legal backing and trace the allocation from the executive proposal through the legislative process to identify where it was introduced.
However, the exclusion of both Gbajabiamila and Adeniyi from the list of invited witnesses has raised concerns about the credibility and comprehensiveness of the probe.
