Nigeria’s House of Representatives AdHoc Committee investigating the alleged inclusion of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, PFIPC in the 2026 Budget has cleared the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, of involvement in the activities of the purported organisation.
The committee in a media briefing at the National Assembly disclosed that preliminary investigation has uncovered an elaborate scheme which saw alleged fabrication of presidential correspondence, a purported Executive Order, an altered document presented as an Act of the National Assembly and the unauthorised use of the names and identities of senior government officials.
Chairman of the Committee, Yusuf Gagdi, who made this known while presenting the panel’s preliminary report explained that the committee found no valid Act of the National Assembly, gazetted enactment, Presidential Executive Order or other lawful instrument establishing PFIPC.
He told journalists that no competent government authority had produced an authentic record showing that the organisation was created, approved or authorised by President Bola Tinubu, the Federal Executive Council, the National Assembly, the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation or any other legally empowered institution.
According to him, the committee found that the organisation operated under inconsistent names, including the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council and Presidential Economic Advisory Council, including a document purporting to appoint Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi as Director-General of the organisation.
Gagdi explained that evidence obtained from the State House established that no such appointment was made or approved by the Presidency, insisting that Gbajabiamila neither issued nor signed the letter, while the letterhead was not authentic State House letterhead and its reference number was inconsistent with the official referencing system.
He described the fabrication as a serious assault on the integrity of the Office of the President, stressing that any attempt to manufacture a document suggesting presidential approval required serious investigative and prosecutorial attention.
The committee said documentary evidence showed that the President’s Chief of Staff acted against the purported organisation when concerns were formally brought to his attention by contacting 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, commending him for timely security and administrative interventions.
Beyond the purported council, the committee said its investigation had identified a wider network of entities and financial accounts linked through identifying information associated with Adeyemi, also referred to in some records as Adeyemi Matthew.
Some preliminary financial information indicated that about 58 bank accounts were linked through the relevant identifying information, with more than 30 accounts apparently operated in the names of about nine agencies, companies, foundations or related entities, with more than 12 associated entities, including organisations bearing names connected to investment promotion, United Nations youth initiatives, entrepreneurship, education and foundations.
Gagdi stressed that the committee had not concluded that every account, entity or transaction was unlawful as investigators were still reconciling registration records, account mandates, beneficial ownership information, signatories and transaction histories.
Gagdi said the final report would contain definitive findings on individual and institutional responsibility and recommendations for possible legislative, administrative, disciplinary, civil, financial and prosecutorial action.
(Follow AIT News on WhatsApp, AfricaIndependentTV on YouTube, ait_online on Facebook and X (Formerly Twitter), and officialait on TikTok, Instagram and Threads)
(Editor: Terverr Tyav)
