KEY POINTS
- The ICPC recommended prosecuting Adeniyi Adeyemi, alleged DG of the disputed PFIPC, in an interim report to Tinubu.
- Investigators found the Federal Government never appointed Adeyemi and that documents used to establish the agency were forged.
- The commission urged sanctions on negligent officials and reforms across MDAs, and said no government funds went to the fake council.
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission has recommended the prosecution of Adeniyi Adeyemi, the alleged director-general of the disputed Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council, in an interim report to President Bola Tinubu.
Commission Chairman Musa Aliyu announced the findings on Thursday after he met Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, exactly 30 days after the president ordered a thorough investigation into the council.
Forged documents at the heart of the case
According to Aliyu, preliminary findings show that the Federal Government never appointed Adeyemi, and that the appointment letter, gazette and other documents used to set up the agency carried forgeries. Moreover, he said the disputed official relied on forged legislative instruments dressed up as enabling acts to open bank accounts.
The chairman also said investigators found serious weaknesses in verification, inter-agency oversight and general government processes. Consequently, Adeyemi exploited those gaps, with some negligence from officials, to make the council look legitimate. Still, Aliyu stressed that the government approved and disbursed no funds to the fake body. Furthermore, investigators uncovered two additional agencies that Adeyemi allegedly created, the FCT Investment Promotion Agency and the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency and Public Private Partnership.
Prosecution, sanctions and reforms urged
The commission recommended that prosecutors charge Adeyemi, and that authorities impose administrative sanctions on public officers whose negligence let the fake agency operate. In addition, it called for institutional reforms to tighten internal controls across ministries, departments and agencies, so similar schemes cannot take root inside government.
However, Aliyu described the document as only an interim report, since investigators still trace other collaborators and build a stronger case. Therefore, he said the commission will file charges that can stand the test of time before a competent court.
The scandal erupted after the Presidency disowned the council and branded it non-existent, even though it appeared in the 2026 Appropriation Act with a ₦1.3 billion allocation. That line item has raised sharp questions about how a phantom body slipped into the national budget. Meanwhile, the government has already charged Adeyemi with forgery, impersonation and fraudulent misrepresentation, while the House of Representatives and the commission press ahead with separate inquiries.