The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, has uncovered two additional fake government agencies linked to Adeniyi Matthew Adeyemi, the self-proclaimed Director-General of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, as investigations into the alleged fraud deepen.
ICPC Chairman, Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu, disclosed this on Thursday, while briefing State House correspondents after presenting the commission’s interim investigation report to President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Aliyu said investigators established that Adeyemi was never appointed by the Federal Government and that the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council had no legal backing, having neither been created by an Act of the National Assembly nor by an executive order.
According to the interim findings, the appointment letter used by Adeyemi was forged, while the fake PFIPC unlawfully took over the offices and official instruments previously used by the defunct Presidential Economic Advisory Council.
The ICPC chairman said the syndicate operated from the former PEAC office and engaged in impersonation, false representation, and other illegal activities by exploiting gaps in verification procedures and coordination among government agencies.
He revealed that investigators also discovered two other fictitious government agencies, the FCT Investment Promotion Agency and the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency.
“These agencies were created using forged legislative instruments and were used to open bank accounts for illegal activities,” he said.
Aliyu further disclosed that Adeyemi later altered the name of the fake organisation from the Foreign Investment Promotion Council to the Foreign Intervention Promotion Council in an attempt to broaden its scope to include revenue generation.
He said, “The investigation found no funds were approved or disbursed for the fake PFIPC/PEAC, and there were no weaknesses in the State House or CBN system.”
The commission recommended the prosecution of Adeyemi, disciplinary action against public officials alleged to have aided the operation of the fake agency, and reforms to strengthen internal controls across government institutions.
According to the report, officials from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF), the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, the Budget Office of the Federation and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) were identified as collaborators in the scheme.
Aliyu stressed that investigations were still ongoing.
“The report is interim and the investigation continues to uncover more details to file criminal charges against Adeyemi and his collaborators,” he said.
He added that President Tinubu had been briefed on the findings and reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to transparency and accountability in resolving the matter.
The ICPC launched an investigation after questions were raised over the existence and activities of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, an organisation that allegedly presented itself as a federal agency despite lacking any legal foundation.
Earlier investigations established that the council was never created by law, while its alleged director-general, Adeniyi Matthew Adeyemi, was found to have used forged appointment documents and unlawfully occupied facilities belonging to the former Presidential Economic Advisory Council.
Credit: Abuja Reports
