The Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) has uncovered two additional fictitious government agencies allegedly linked to Adeniyi Adeyemi, the self-styled director-general of the controversial Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC).
Key Highlights
- The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has uncovered two additional fake government agencies allegedly linked to Adeniyi Adeyemi.
- ICPC Chairman Musa Aliyu announced the findings after presenting an interim investigation report to President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
- The commission said Adeyemi was never appointed by the Federal Government, and the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) has no legal foundation.
- Investigators found that the appointment letter allegedly used by Adeyemi was forged.
- The purported PFIPC allegedly occupied offices and used official equipment belonging to the defunct Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC).
The ICPC Chairman, Musa Aliyu, disclosed this on Thursday, while briefing State House correspondents after presenting the commission’s interim investigation report to President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
Aliyu said the investigation established that Adeyemi was never appointed by the federal government and that the PFIPC had no legal foundation, having not been established by an Act of the National Assembly or an executive order.
He said the appointment letter allegedly used by Adeyemi was forged, while the purported agency unlawfully occupied offices and used official instruments previously belonging to the defunct Presidential Economic Advisory Council.
According to the ICPC chairman, the syndicate operated from the former PEAC office and allegedly engaged in impersonation, false representation and other unlawful activities by exploiting gaps in verification and coordination among government institutions.
The commission also uncovered two other alleged fake agencies — the FCT Investment Promotion Agency and the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency.
“These agencies were created using forged legislative instruments and were used to open bank accounts for illegal activities,” Aliyu said.
He added that Adeyemi subsequently changed the name of the purported organisation from the Foreign Investment Promotion Council to the Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, allegedly in an attempt to expand its activities to revenue generation.
The ICPC chairman, however, said the investigation found no evidence that government funds were approved or released to the purported PFIPC or the former PEAC.
“The investigation found no funds were approved or disbursed for the fake PFIPC/PEAC, and there were no weaknesses in the State House or CBN system,” he said.
The commission recommended the prosecution of Adeyemi and disciplinary action against public officials allegedly involved in facilitating the activities of the fake agency.
It also recommended reforms to strengthen internal control and verification mechanisms across government institutions.
The interim report identified officials from the office of the secretary to the government of the federation, office of the head of the civil service of the federation, office of the accountant-general of the federation, Budget Office of the Federation and National Information Technology Development Agency as alleged collaborators in the scheme.
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Aliyu stressed that the investigation was still ongoing, saying the commission was working to uncover additional details that could support criminal charges against Adeyemi and others allegedly involved.
“The report is interim and the investigation continues to uncover more details to file criminal charges against Adeyemi and his collaborators,” he said.
The ICPC launched the investigation following questions surrounding the existence and activities of the PFIPC, which had allegedly presented itself as a Federal Government agency despite having no known legal foundation.
Previous findings by the commission established that the purported council was never created by law and that Adeyemi allegedly relied on forged appointment documents while occupying facilities previously used by the defunct Presidential Economic Advisory Council.
President Tinubu has been briefed on the findings as the anti-corruption commission continues its investigation into the alleged fake agencies and the officials suspected of aiding their operations.
