PFIPC scandal: ADC rejects ICPC report, demands probe of government officials

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has rejected the interim report of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) on the alleged fake Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), accusing the Federal Government of attempting to contain the controversy rather than conduct a comprehensive investigation.

In a statement on Saturday by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the opposition party described the ICPC report as “predictable and inadequate”, arguing that it failed to address key questions surrounding how the alleged fictitious agency operated within government structures.

The ADC questioned how an organisation allegedly found to be fake could secure office space at the Federal Secretariat, have civil servants deployed to it, obtain official vehicles and security personnel, and receive a N1.3 billion provision in the 2026 Appropriation Act.

According to the party, the circumstances surrounding PFIPC could not simply be attributed to an administrative error or procedural lapse.

“What happened was a grand scam that could have been possible only with the active connivance of government officials and institutions at the highest level,” the ADC said.

The party also criticised the ICPC for reportedly recommending the prosecution of Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, whom the commission identified as the principal suspect, while its investigation remained ongoing.

The ADC questioned why an interim report was publicly released rather than submitted confidentially to President Bola Tinubu while investigators continued examining the matter.

It argued that Nigerians expected investigators to establish how the alleged fictitious agency obtained the approvals and institutional support required to function as a government entity.

The opposition party asked how Adeyemi, allegedly acting alone, could have obtained accommodation within the Federal Secretariat, secured the deployment of civil servants, obtained official vehicles with customised number plates and armed security, and secured a N1.3 billion provision in the federal budget.

It also demanded an explanation of how the alleged allocation entered the Appropriation Act, given the procedures involved in submitting, reviewing, approving and verifying budgetary proposals.

The ADC further noted that the ICPC had reportedly uncovered two additional fictitious organisations linked to Adeyemi, arguing that the discovery should trigger a wider investigation into the systems that allowed such entities to operate.

“If an investigation into one fake government agency leads investigators to two more, then the obvious question is no longer merely how one individual perpetrated an elaborate fraud,” the party said.

“The question is how has this administration operated that made such systemic criminality possible?”

On the alleged forged appointment letter bearing the signature of the President’s Chief of Staff, the ADC said proving that the document was forged would not resolve questions over how it allegedly passed through multiple government departments without being detected.

The party asked who verified the existence of PFIPC before civil servants were deployed to it, who approved its accommodation in a federal facility and who processed its dealings with other government institutions.

It also called for the ongoing investigation by the House of Representatives into the N1.3 billion budgetary provision to determine who proposed, processed and verified the allocation.

The ADC warned that prosecuting only Adeyemi without investigating government officials whose actions or negligence may have enabled the alleged fraud would amount to holding one person responsible while ignoring the broader institutional failures.

The party urged the authorities to expand the investigation and establish the full chain of responsibility surrounding the alleged PFIPC scandal.