The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission has cleared the Presidency of any wrongdoing in the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council saga, while recommending the prosecution of the council’s promoter, Adeniyi Adeyemi. indicts
President Bola Tinubu received the commission’s interim investigation report on Thursday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
This is as Adeyemi, on Thursday, declined to answer questions from members of the House of Representatives ad hoc committee investigating the establishment of the council, following the absence of his lawyers and his opposition to the closed-door interrogation adopted by the committee.
Briefing State House correspondents after presenting the report, ICPC Chairman, Musa Adamu (SAN), said the investigation established that Adeyemi was never appointed by the Federal Government and that the PFIPC, also referred to in some documents as the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, was never created by any law, Executive Order or valid government instrument.
“The appointment letter presented by the suspect, along with other supporting documents, was completely forged and did not originate from the Presidency,” Adamu said.
According to him, investigators also uncovered two additional fictitious agencies allegedly created by Adeyemi using forged legislative instruments, the FCT Investment Promotion Agency and the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency/Public-Private Partnership, which were allegedly used to open bank accounts and conduct unauthorised activities.
Adamu further disclosed that Adeyemi unlawfully took over the office of the defunct Presidential Economic Advisory Council after gaining unauthorised access to the facility and used the location to project legitimacy for the fake agency before visitors, government officials and foreign diplomats.
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He said the investigation found that no Federal Government funds were approved or disbursed to the fake agency and that there was no security breach within the Presidency or the Central Bank of Nigeria.
“No Federal Government funds were approved or disbursed to the fake agency, and no security breach was found within the Presidency or the Central Bank of Nigeria,” the ICPC chairman stated.
He, however, said the investigation exposed institutional weaknesses in verification processes, inter-agency coordination and oversight across several Ministries, Departments and Agencies, including 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 and the National Information Technology Development Agency.
“The investigation identified weaknesses in verification processes, inter-agency coordination and oversight across several Ministries, Departments and Agencies… These lapses, compounded by negligence on the part of some public officers, enabled the suspect to operate unchecked,” Adamu said.
He said the commission recommended the prosecution of Adeyemi, administrative sanctions against public officers whose acts of omission facilitated the operation of the fake agency, and institutional reforms to strengthen internal controls across the affected MDAs.
According to him, the report submitted to the President is interim, with criminal investigations continuing to identify any collaborators and obtain additional evidence before charges are filed.
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