The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) says it has uncovered two additional fictitious government agencies allegedly established by self-acclaimed Director-General of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), Adeniyi Matthew Adeyemi, as investigations into the alleged fraud continue.
ICPC Chairman, Dr Musa Adamu 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, Abuja.
Aliyu said investigations confirmed that Adeyemi was never appointed by the Federal Government and that the PFIPC had no legal status, as it was neither established by an Act of the National Assembly nor through an executive order.
He said the commission found that the appointment letter used by Adeyemi was forged and that the fake council unlawfully occupied offices and utilised official materials belonging to the defunct Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC).
According to him, the group operated from the former PEAC office, where it allegedly engaged in impersonation, false representation and other unlawful activities by exploiting weaknesses in inter-agency verification and coordination.
The ICPC chairman said investigators also identified two other fictitious agencies allegedly created by the same network — the FCT Investment Promotion Agency and the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency.
According to him, both organisations were established using forged legislative documents and were allegedly used to open bank accounts for illegal transactions.
Aliyu further revealed that Adeyemi later changed the name of the organisation from the Foreign Investment Promotion Council to the Foreign Intervention Promotion Council in an apparent attempt to expand its mandate to include revenue generation.
"The investigation established that no funds were approved or disbursed for the fake PFIPC/PEAC, and there were no weaknesses in the systems of either the State House or the Central Bank of Nigeria," he said.
The commission recommended the prosecution of Adeyemi, disciplinary action against public officials accused of facilitating the operations of the fake agency, and reforms aimed at strengthening internal controls across government institutions.
Aliyu said the investigation identified officials from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, the Budget Office of the Federation and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) as alleged collaborators in the scheme.
He, however, stressed that the investigation remained ongoing.
"This is an interim report. Investigations are continuing to uncover additional evidence that will support criminal charges against Adeyemi and his collaborators," he said.
Aliyu added that President Tinubu had been briefed on the commission's findings and reiterated the administration's commitment to transparency, accountability and the prosecution of those found culpable.
The ICPC began investigating the matter following concerns over the existence and operations of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, which allegedly operated as a federal agency despite lacking any legal basis.
Earlier findings by the commission indicated that the council was never lawfully established, while Adeyemi allegedly relied on forged appointment documents and illegally occupied facilities belonging to the former Presidential Economic Advisory Council.
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