Fresh documents have raised questions over the Presidency’s insistence that the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) never existed, revealing that the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation processed an official request submitted in the council’s name.
According to The Punch, the documents show the SGF’s office received, acknowledged and forwarded a request for office accommodation submitted by the council’s self-styled Director-General, Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
In his letter to the SGF, Adeyemi described the PFIPC as a Federal Government investment agency that “attracts and maximises the flow of foreign direct investments into Nigeria” and serves as “a One-Stop-Shop for Investments centre coordinating investment-related activities across ministries, departments and agencies.”
The documents surfaced amid Adeyemi’s criminal trial over allegations that he operated a fictitious government agency, forged a presidential appointment letter purportedly signed by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, and falsely presented himself as the council’s Director-General.
Despite the documents, the Presidency has maintained that the PFIPC never existed. Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga described the council as “fictitious,” while Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, said investigators must uncover those who allegedly aided the scheme.
“The criminal network within the affected institutions must be dismantled, and everyone found to have played a role should be arrested and prosecuted,” Ajayi said.
Ajayi also accused Adeyemi of attempting to drag Gbajabiamila into the controversy, describing him as “an irredeemable con artist” who was using the Chief of Staff as “his last straw.”
Meanwhile, human rights lawyer Femi Falana faulted the Presidency’s position, insisting it lacked the constitutional authority to exonerate anyone connected with the matter. He called on the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission to conduct an independent investigation into both Gbajabiamila and Adeyemi.
The Federal Government has listed Gbajabiamila and 10 others as witnesses in the criminal case, while opposition parties and civil society organisations have also demanded an independent probe into the alleged agency and its operations.
