Reps Panel Traces 58 Bank Accounts, 12 Illegal Entities in PFIPC Fraud Network

Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi

Reps Panel Traces 58 Bank Accounts, 12 Illegal Entities in PFIPC Fraud Network

The House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee investigating the controversial Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) has uncovered 58 bank accounts and 12 illegal entities linked to its purported Director-General, Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, in what investigators describe as an elaborate scheme involving forged State House correspondence and fictitious government officials.

The House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee investigating the establishment and operations of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) has uncovered 58 bank accounts and 12 illegal entities linked to its purported “Director-General,” Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi. The committee said the discovery was made through an elaborate scheme involving forged State House correspondence, fictitious government officials and the unauthorised occupation of Federal Secretariat premises. The House had on 8 July adopted a motion to probe how the PFIPC secured an allocation in the 2026 Appropriation Act, after the Presidency disclaimed the agency, stating that it was never legally established. The probe has rapidly become one of the most significant governance scandals confronting the administration, raising difficult questions about the integrity of Nigeria’s public institutions, budget process and administrative safeguards.

In its preliminary findings released on Wednesday, the committee said the purported organisation appeared to have deployed fictitious names, offices and official designations in a bid to obtain recognition as a legitimate Federal Government institution. Committee Chairman Yusuf Gagdi disclosed the findings during a press briefing in Abuja, emphasising that the investigation had established that the PFIPC was not lawfully established. He noted that there is no valid Act of the National Assembly, Presidential Executive Order, gazetted enactment or any other lawful instrument establishing the agency. The preliminary report, however, did not establish how N1.3 billion was allocated to the PFIPC in the 2026 Federal Budget or identify the individuals who facilitated the allocation. The Budget Office of the Federation later clarified that despite the appropriation of N1.302 billion for the council in the 2026 budget, not a single kobo was released, as the statutory conditions required for expenditure were never met.

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At the centre of the controversy is a letter purportedly issued by the State House and signed by one Mr. Akambi Adewale, described as “Director, Administration and Support Services,” for the Permanent Secretary. But evidence obtained from the State House, according to the committee, established that the office cited in the letter did not exist in the stated form. The purported Directorate of Administration and Support Services was also said not to exist, while no State House officer known as Akambi Adewale served in that capacity. The committee therefore concluded that fictitious public officers and non-existent government directorates were deployed in a document “calculated to mislead an important financial institution of the Federal Government.” The Accountant-General of the Federation, Shamseldeen Ogunjimi, had earlier told the committee that a forged letter purportedly originating from the State House was used to secure official government recognition for the PFIPC. He disclosed that his office acted on what appeared to be a genuine State House correspondence requesting the creation of an administrative code for the council in November 2024, only for investigations to later reveal that the letter did not originate from the Presidency. The Office of the Accountant-General confirmed that its response to the purported State House request was authentic, although the originating request itself was allegedly forged. The office also acknowledged that the response ought not to have been released to Adeyemi or any other unauthorised person, but should have been transmitted through a properly authenticated official channel.

The committee disclosed that more than 30 of the 58 accounts were reportedly operated in the names of about nine agencies, companies, foundations or related entities, while some entities appeared to have multiple accounts. Other accounts, the panel said, were operated in personal or variant names. The entities identified by the committee include 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, the FCT Investment Promotion Act, the FCT Promotion Agency, and the Olubadan of Ibadan Foundation. The committee cautioned that it had not concluded that every identified account, entity or transaction was unlawful. It said it was reconciling registration records, account mandates, beneficial ownership information, signatories and transaction histories to determine the true ownership, control and nature of the accounts.

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The committee also addressed the question of whether Femi Gbajabiamila, the Chief of Staff to the President, signed Adeyemi’s purported appointment letter. The panel stated that documentary evidence before it does not establish that the Chief of Staff authorised, approved or participated in the activities of the purported organisation. The committee said the purported appointment letter was fabricated and falsely attributed to the Presidency. It described the conduct as “a grave assault on the integrity of the Office of the President.” Rather than finding evidence linking Gbajabiamila to the alleged scheme, the committee said documents before it showed that he had taken steps to trigger investigations into the organisation when concerns were brought to his attention, including communicating with the Nigeria Police Force, Office of the National Security Adviser, Department of State Services and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. The committee consequently commended Gbajabiamila for what it described as timely security and administrative interventions.

The committee also uncovered a purported Presidential Executive Order No. 5, dated 24 February 2026, which was allegedly used to provide legal authority for the organisation. The lawmakers, however, said evidence before them indicated that the document was neither issued nor approved through lawful presidential processes. It described the alleged fabrication of a presidential instrument as an exceptionally serious matter capable of undermining the authority of the Nigerian state. The panel also examined a document presented as an Act of the National Assembly establishing the purported agency and found that it was never passed by both chambers of the National Assembly, assented to by the President or gazetted as an Act of the Federation. More seriously, the committee said portions of a document relating to another institution appeared to have been electronically altered, mutilated or substituted to create the impression that Parliament had established the PFIPC.

The Reps panel described the occupation of accommodation space within the Federal Secretariat complex as unauthorised, saying it enhanced the organisation’s ability to portray itself to members of the public and other government institutions as a legitimate Federal Government agency. It said it was investigating the identity and authority of the officers involved in the transfer or occupation of the premises. The investigation also found that the organisation obtained official-looking number plates for its vehicles. The Federal Road Safety Corps admitted that it issued seven official number plates to the purported council after relying on documents presented by the organisation. The registered vehicles included a 2024 bulletproof Lexus LX, two Toyota Land Cruiser sport utility vehicles and four Toyota Hilux vehicles, which received registration numbers PFIPC 01 to PFIPC 07.

The committee further found that approximately 39 persons had been paraded or represented as employees of the purported organisation across junior, intermediate and senior cadres. It said it was investigating their recruitment, appointment letters, identity cards, salaries and allowances, as well as allegations that money was collected from some persons as a condition for employment. The panel said it would distinguish between individuals who were themselves deceived and those who knowingly participated in, facilitated or benefited from the activities under investigation. The committee also expressed concern over the failure or refusal of some officials in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) to honour its invitations or fully respond to requests for information. It said evidence suggested that a senior officer might have directed that invitations issued by the committee should not be honoured. The affected officials, however, would be given a final opportunity to respond before the committee makes definitive findings and recommendations.