Fresh documents show SGF processed office request for disputed PFIPC

Fresh documents have raised new questions over the Presidency’s insistence that the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) never existed, revealing that the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) processed an official request for office accommodation submitted in the agency’s name months before it was publicly disowned.

The documents show that the SGF’s office acknowledged and forwarded a request by the council’s self-acclaimed Director-General, Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, seeking office space from recovered Federal Government properties managed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

The forwarding letter, dated November 21, 2024, was signed by the Permanent Secretary, General Services Office, Nnamdi Maurice Mbaeri, on behalf of the SGF.

Records indicate that Adeyemi’s request, dated November 7, 2024, was received by the SGF’s office on November 12 before being forwarded to the EFCC nine days later for what the letter described as “further necessary action.”

In the correspondence, Adeyemi presented the PFIPC as a Federal Government agency responsible for attracting foreign direct investment and coordinating investment-related activities across ministries, departments and agencies.

He claimed the council served as a one-stop investment centre responsible for promoting Nigeria as a preferred destination for foreign investors and coordinating support for both prospective and existing investors.

The documents emerged as Adeyemi faces criminal charges before the Federal High Court in Abuja over allegations of forgery, impersonation and operating a fictitious government agency.

The Federal Government alleges that he forged appointment letters purportedly signed by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, falsely presented himself as Director-General of the PFIPC and operated multiple bank accounts linked to the alleged agency.

Police also accused him of using the purported council to engage government officials, diplomats and foreign investors, including requesting diplomatic assistance from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for visa processing.

Meanwhile, the Federal Government has listed Gbajabiamila and 10 other witnesses in the criminal case against Adeyemi.

According to the charge sheet, Adeyemi and two other suspects currently at large are facing eight counts bordering on conspiracy, forgery, impersonation and operating a fictitious government agency between 2024 and 2025.

An interim police investigation report filed before the court stated that the probe began after a petition from the Office of the Chief of Staff, alleging that forged presidential appointment letters were being used to legitimise a non-existent agency.

The report also alleged that Adeyemi wrote to several government institutions, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, seeking official support for activities of the purported council.

A visit by journalists to the Federal Secretariat in Abuja reportedly found no office bearing the name of the PFIPC, while officials and security personnel said they were unaware of the agency’s existence.

However, checks also indicated that the agency previously operated a website on the Federal Government’s domain, although the site was no longer accessible at the time of reporting.

Reacting to the controversy on Friday, the Presidency said security agencies had been directed to identify and prosecute any public officials who may have collaborated with Adeyemi.

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, said investigators from the DSS, the Police and the EFCC had been tasked with uncovering the full extent of the alleged network behind the scheme.

He maintained that the PFIPC was fictitious and accused Adeyemi of attempting to exploit corruption allegations to evade criminal responsibility.

The controversy has also attracted reactions from human rights lawyer Femi Falana, opposition parties, including the African Democratic Congress and the Nigeria Democratic Congress, as well as civil society organisations, all of which have called for an independent investigation into the alleged agency, its budgetary allocations and the involvement of government officials.

(Punch)