The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has submitted an interim report to President Bola Tinubu on its investigation into the alleged fictitious Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), recommending the prosecution of its alleged Director-General, Adeniyi Adeyemi.
The report followed a 30-day investigation ordered by President Tinubu into allegations that forged appointment letters, fake government documents and purported presidential appointments were used to obtain official recognition and diplomatic support, including visa facilitation.
ICPC Chairman, Musa Aliyu, disclosed the development on Thursday after briefing the President at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
He said preliminary findings showed that Adeyemi was never appointed by the Federal Government and that the purported appointment letter, gazette and other documents used to establish the council were forged.
According to Aliyu, the investigation also exposed major gaps in government verification and oversight processes, which were allegedly exploited to create the impression that the PFIPC was a legitimate government agency.
“Our interim report found that there are weaknesses in verification, inter-agency oversight and government processes. We discovered that those weaknesses were exploited by Adeniyi, with some level of negligence.
“Our investigation found that no Federal Government funds were approved or disbursed to the fake PFIPC/PEAC,” the ICPC chairman stated.
Aliyu further disclosed that investigators uncovered two additional agencies allegedly established by Adeyemi, the FCT Investment Promotion Agency (FIFA) and the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency and Public Private Partnership (PIPA-PPP).
He added that the suspect allegedly relied on forged legislative instruments presented as enabling laws to facilitate the opening of bank accounts.
“Used forged legislative instruments styled as enabling acts, and used them to support opening of bank accounts.”
The ICPC chairman said the commission has recommended Adeyemi’s prosecution, disciplinary action against public officers whose negligence allegedly enabled the operation of the fake agency, and institutional reforms to strengthen internal controls across Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
“Our recommendation is that Mr Adeniyi Adeyemi should be prosecuted. Administrative sanctions should also be imposed on public officers whose acts of omission and negligence facilitated the illegal operation of PFIPC/PEAC.
“There is also a need for institutional reforms so that the internal controls of MDAs can be strengthened to prevent this kind of illegal activity,” he stated.
Aliyu noted that the report submitted to the President was only an interim one, adding that investigations are continuing to identify other collaborators and build a stronger criminal case.
“We have continued with the investigation of the activities of Mr Adeniyi Adeyemi and his collaborators so that we can unravel more facts and file criminal charges that can stand the test of time before a court of competent jurisdiction,” he said.