PFIPC Probe: ICPC Recommends Adeyemi’s Prosecution

By Adedapo Adesanya

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, Mr Adeniyi Adeyemi.

ICPC’s Chairman, Mr Musa Aliyu, disclosed this after meeting President Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, exactly 30 days after his agency was directed to conduct a thorough investigation into the PFIPC.

According to Mr Aliyu, preliminary findings revealed that the federal government never appointed Adeyemi and that the purported appointment letter, gazette and other documents used to establish the agency were forged.

The case centres on an alleged corruption and forgery scandal involving the disputed government entity, PFIPC, which was not approved.

Speaking at the State House, Mr Aliyu said the commission’s investigation established that Mr Adeyemi was never appointed by the Federal Government and that the documents used to legitimise the agency were forged.

The ICPC boss said the investigation also revealed significant weaknesses in government verification and oversight processes, which were 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.

According to him, investigators also uncovered two additional agencies allegedly created by Adeyemi, the FCT Investment Promotion Agency (FIFA) and the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency and Public Private Partnership (PIPA-PPP).

Mr Aliyu said the disputed DG “used forged legislative instruments styled as enabling acts, and used them to support opening of bank accounts.”

The ICPC chairman said the commission recommended Adeyemi’s prosecution, administrative sanctions against public officers whose negligence 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.

The chief investigator noted that the report submitted to the President is 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.

The PFIPC scandal came to light after the Presidency disowned the council, describing it as a non-existent government agency despite its appearance in the 2026 Appropriation Act with a N1.3 billion budget allocation.

The federal government has since filed criminal charges against Mr Adeyemi over allegations including forgery, impersonation and fraudulent misrepresentation, while separate investigations by the House of Representatives and the ICPC continue into how the fake agency operated within government institutions.