The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has uncovered two additional fake government agencies allegedly linked to Adeniyi Matthew Adeyemi, the self-styled Director-General of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), as its investigation into the suspected fraud expands.
ICPC Chairman, Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu, disclosed this on Thursday while briefing State House correspondents after presenting the commission’s interim investigation report to President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
Aliyu said investigations confirmed that Adeyemi was never appointed by the Federal Government and that the PFIPC had no legal status, as it was neither established by an Act of the National Assembly nor through an executive order.
According to the interim report, the appointment letter presented by Adeyemi was forged, while the fake PFIPC unlawfully occupied offices and used official materials previously assigned to the defunct Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC).
The ICPC chairman said the group operated from the former PEAC office, carrying out impersonation, false representation and other unlawful activities by exploiting weaknesses in verification processes and coordination among government institutions.
He also revealed the discovery of two additional fictitious agencies — the FCT Investment Promotion Agency and the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency.
“These agencies were created using forged legislative instruments and were used to open bank accounts for illegal activities,” Aliyu said.
The ICPC chairman further disclosed that Adeyemi later changed the name of the fake organisation from the Foreign Investment Promotion Council to the Foreign Intervention Promotion Council in a bid to expand its activities to include revenue generation.
Aliyu said the investigation found that no government funds were approved or disbursed to the fake PFIPC or PEAC, adding that investigators detected no weaknesses in the systems of the State House or the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The commission recommended Adeyemi’s prosecution, disciplinary action against public officials suspected of aiding the operation of the fake agency, and reforms to strengthen internal controls across government institutions.
The interim report identified officials from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, 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 collaborators in the scheme.
Aliyu stressed that investigations remain ongoing.
“This is an interim report, and investigations will continue to uncover more details needed to file criminal charges against Adeyemi and his collaborators,” he said.
He added that President Tinubu had been briefed on the findings and reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to transparency, accountability and a thorough resolution of the matter.
