The House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee investigating the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) on Thursday uncovered fresh inconsistencies in documents used to establish the purported agency.
At the investigative hearing held at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja, the State House denied any role in creating the council or requesting a budget code on its behalf, while the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) defended its decision to allocate official government number plates to the agency.
The committee is probing how the PFIPC allegedly secured official recognition and became integrated into aspects of the Federal Government’s administrative and budgetary processes, including the 2026 Appropriation Act, despite concerns over its legal status.
Representing the Permanent Secretary, State House, the Director of Administration, Abdulkadri Idris, told lawmakers that the Presidency neither established nor authorised the PFIPC and never requested the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation to generate a budget code for the council.
“We did not send any correspondence or request to the Office of the Accountant-General regarding this council. We know nothing about it and only became aware of its existence through media reports,” Idris said.
He explained that the State House has no statutory responsibility for creating government agencies and therefore could not have issued any communication establishing the council.
Idris also described documents presented to the committee and purportedly issued by the State House as fraudulent. He noted that one of the documents was allegedly signed by “Akande Adewale” as Director of Administration and Support Services, a position he said has never existed within the Presidency.
“I presented the list of Directors of Administration in the State House from 2003 to date, and there is no name resembling Akande Adewale. There is also no Directorate of Administration and Support Services in the State House. We only have the Department of Administration, and Akande Adewale has never served as Director of Administration,” he said.
To support its claims, the State House submitted official records previously forwarded to the Nigeria Police National Cybercrime Centre, including authentic letterheads and a historical list of Directors of Administration.
Reacting to the testimony, committee chairman Yusuf Gagdi said the evidence exposed significant discrepancies between documents obtained from the Accountant-General’s Office and official records provided by the State House.
“The State House has denied writing any letter requesting budget codes. It has also confirmed that the Directorate of Administration and Support Services does not exist. Yet the Accountant-General responded to correspondence from an office the State House says never existed, while the signatory, Akande Adewale, does not appear in any official records,” Gagdi said.
He described the revelations as a major breakthrough in determining how government processes were allegedly manipulated to legitimise the PFIPC.
The State House also denied issuing any appointment letter to the purported Director-General of the council, Adeniyi Adeyemi, stressing that appointments of heads of federal agencies are conveyed through the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation after presidential approval.
FRSC Defends Number Plate Allocation
The Federal Road Safety Corps also defended its decision to issue seven official Federal Government vehicle number plates to the PFIPC, insisting it followed established administrative procedures based on documents presented by the applicants.
In a memorandum dated August 6, 2026, and signed by Corps Marshal Shehu Mohammed, the FRSC said the application originated from a letter dated April 4, 2025, signed by Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi on behalf of the Office of the Director-General of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council/Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council.
A reminder dated April 11, 2025, was later received alongside documents outlining the council’s mandate and identifying vehicles requiring official registration.
According to Mohammed, Adeyemi personally submitted the application at the FRSC headquarters. Because the PFIPC claimed to be a newly established federal agency, the Corps carried out additional verification.
The verification included reviewing supporting documents, visiting the government website provided by the applicant, which carried a Federal Government domain name, and physically inspecting the council’s office at the Federal Secretariat Complex, Phase III, Central Business District, Abuja.
“Having completed the verification processes and being satisfied with the information presented, the Corps approved and allocated seven Official Federal Government Vehicle Number Plates to the agency,” Mohammed said.
The vehicles included a 2024 bulletproof Lexus LX, two Toyota Land Cruiser SUVs and four Toyota Hilux vehicles. They were assigned registration numbers PFIPC 01 to PFIPC 07 after verification of their chassis numbers.
However, the Corps Marshal said the FRSC was later informed that the PFIPC was not an approved Federal Government agency.
“It therefore came as a profound shock to the Corps when it subsequently emerged that the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council was not an approved Federal Government agency and that the representations made by Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi were false,” he stated.
He added that the FRSC has begun administrative steps to retrieve the seven official number plates and has strengthened its internal verification procedures to prevent a recurrence.
During the hearing, Gagdi questioned the adequacy of the verification process, noting that the documents relied upon by the FRSC lacked standard government security features and unusually listed President Bola Tinubu, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation and several ministers as members of the council.
“Does this look normal to you?” Gagdi asked.
Responding, the Corps Marshal admitted: “No, not at all.”
He, however, maintained that the Corps acted in good faith based on the information available at the time, including the operational office, official-looking documents, government-domain website and verified vehicle chassis numbers.
The committee subsequently directed the FRSC to provide the current status and location of all vehicles registered under the PFIPC.
Gagdi also announced that the committee would conclude its investigation next Wednesday and directed the committee clerk to invite all relevant agencies for the final phase of the inquiry.
The House constituted the Ad-hoc Committee following allegations that the PFIPC operated as a Federal Government entity without legal backing, obtained official documents and approvals, and was integrated into government administrative processes.
Lawmakers said the investigation is aimed at determining how the purported agency emerged, identifying those responsible and recommending measures to prevent similar breaches in public administration.
