The House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee investigating the purported Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) has uncovered about 58 bank accounts allegedly linked to its detained Director-General, Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, as well as an alleged N400 million transaction which the panel said may have involved fraudulent representations.
The committee also discovered that more than 30 of the accounts appeared to have been operated in the names of about nine agencies, companies, foundations and other entities allegedly connected to Adeyemi, raising questions about their ownership, control and purpose.
Chairman of the committee, Yusuf Gagdi, disclosed the findings on Wednesday while presenting the panel’s preliminary report to parliamentary correspondents in Abuja on the circumstances surrounding the purported council’s inclusion in the Federal Budget Framework.
According to Gagdi, preliminary information obtained from financial and investigative institutions indicated that Adeyemi’s Bank Verification Number and other identifying details were linked to a network of personal, corporate, organisational and foundation accounts.
Among the entities identified were the Confederation of United Nations Youths; FCT Investment Promotion Agency and Public-Private Partnership; FCT Investment Promotion Council and Public-Private Partnership; Foreign Investment Promotion Agency; United Nations Youth Global Agency; United Nations Youth Global Foundation; World United Nations Youth Global Foundation; World Entrepreneurship University Limited; World Enterprise University Limited; FCT Investment Promotion Act; FCT Promotion Agency; and Olubadan of Ibadan Foundation.
Gagdi, however, stressed that the committee had not concluded that every account, entity or transaction identified was unlawful.
He said the panel was still “reconciling registration records, account mandates, beneficial ownership information, signatories and transaction histories to establish the true nature and control of the organisations and accounts.”
The committee nevertheless identified what it described as “similarities in the nomenclature, objectives, management structures, signatories and banking relationships of several of the entities.”
According to Gagdi, the similarities raised concerns over a possible pattern of creating or deploying organisations to project artificial credibility, solicit funds, obtain official recognition or induce members of the public to part with money.
N400m Transaction Under Investigation
The committee also raised concerns over an alleged N400 million transaction involving a company which claimed that Adeyemi induced it to make payments in four instalments after allegedly representing that he could secure a contract for the renovation, furnishing or improvement of a purported official residence allocated to him in his claimed capacity as PFIPC Director-General.
Gagdi said the committee was tracing the funds, identifying the account holders and beneficial owners, and determining whether any public officer or private individual participated in, facilitated or benefited from the transaction.
He said that if established through competent investigative and judicial processes, the allegations could constitute offences including fraudulent misrepresentation, obtaining money by false pretence, impersonation, conspiracy, forgery and offences relating to the concealment or movement of proceeds of crime.
PFIPC Allegedly Not Lawfully Established
Beyond the financial transactions, the committee said its investigation had uncovered evidence suggesting that the purported PFIPC was never lawfully established.
Gagdi said the panel found no Act of the National Assembly, gazetted enactment, Presidential Executive Order or other lawful instrument creating the organisation.
He added that documents used to project the existence and authority of the purported council contained substantial evidence of alleged fabrication, forgery, mutilation, impersonation and unauthorised representation of Nigerian institutions and public officials.
The committee said it found “evidence of alleged fabrication of official documents, including a purported presidential appointment letter for Adeyemi, a purported Executive Order and a document presented as an Act of the National Assembly establishing the organisation.”
According to Gagdi, evidence obtained from the State House “established that the purported appointment letter was neither issued nor signed by the Chief of Staff to the President, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila.”
The letterhead and reference number were also said to be inconsistent with official State House correspondence.
Reps Exonerate Gbajabiamila, Others
The committee consequently exonerated Gbajabiamila from allegations of authorising, establishing or participating in the activities of the purported council.
Gagdi said the evidence before the panel did not establish that the Chief of Staff “authorised, approved, established or participated in the activities of the purported organisation.”
Rather, he said, evidence showed that Gbajabiamila promptly contacted relevant security and investigative agencies, including the Nigeria Police Force, Office of the National Security Adviser, Department of State Services and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, after receiving alerts concerning the organisation.
The committee also exonerated the National Assembly committees responsible for budget scrutiny from culpability.
Gagdi said the investigation had now shifted attention to “how an entity that had not been lawfully established was nevertheless able to secure apparent recognition and budgetary treatment within the Federal Government’s administrative machinery.”
Government Verification Gaps Exposed
According to the committee, the case exposed serious weaknesses in the verification of government institutions, the creation of administrative and budget codes, authentication of official correspondence, allocation of government accommodation and processing of official-looking vehicle number plates.
The purported council allegedly strengthened its claim to governmental legitimacy by occupying office accommodation within the Federal Secretariat Complex and operating a website portraying it as a Federal Government institution.
The committee also found that the organisation allegedly used the names, offices and photographs of President Bola Tinubu and other senior government officials without authorisation.
About 39 people were reportedly presented as employees of the purported organisation. The committee said it was investigating their recruitment, appointment letters, identity cards, remuneration and allegations that some prospective employees were required to make payments as a condition for employment.
Reps Recommend Crackdown, Account Freezes
Gagdi said the committee had recommended that all Ministries, Departments and Agencies immediately stop recognising, transacting with or extending government privileges to the PFIPC or any related entity whose legal status had not been independently verified.
The panel also urged relevant government agencies to ensure that “no appropriation, administrative code, warrant, cash backing, financial release or governmental facility should be processed in favour of the purported organisation.”
It further recommended that relevant financial institutions and investigative agencies preserve account records, transaction histories, mandates and beneficial ownership information relating to the persons and entities under investigation.
The committee called for “the prompt conclusion of criminal and financial investigations” and said that where sufficient admissible evidence was established, “appropriate agencies should institute criminal proceedings before courts of competent jurisdiction.”
It also recommended “the tracing, preservation, freezing and recovery of proceeds or assets derived from any established unlawful conduct, subject to applicable legal requirements and judicial authorisation where necessary.”
The committee commended the Nigeria Police Force, DSS, EFCC, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission and ONSA for their contributions to tracing the alleged fabricated documents, associated entities, financial accounts and transactions.
It further proposed stronger authentication procedures for the creation of new government institutions and administrative and budget codes, as well as for correspondence purportedly emanating from the Presidency and other senior government offices.
Another recommendation was the establishment or strengthening of a secure, centralised digital verification platform through which the lawful existence, establishing instrument and status of every Federal Government institution could be independently authenticated.
