By Derick Peretengboro

The House of Representatives has intensified its investigation into the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), directing the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) to ensure the appearance of the organisation’s self-proclaimed Director-General, Adeniyi Adeyemi, before its investigative panel.

The order followed the resumption of the House Ad-hoc Committee’s hearing on the activities of the council, which the Federal Government has maintained was never legally established.

Chairman of the committee, Yusuf Gagdi, disclosed that lawmakers had uncovered 29 documents believed to have been forged in connection with the operations of the alleged agency. According to him, the documents include purported approvals and official correspondence bearing the names of several government institutions.

Representing the IGP, Assistant Commissioner of Police Bashir Abdullahi informed the committee that Adeyemi had already been arrested and arraigned before the Federal High Court on an eight-count criminal charge arising from earlier police investigations. He explained that the case originated from petitions submitted by the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President.

The police also told lawmakers that investigations revealed allegations that Adeyemi falsely presented himself as the head of both the Presidential Economic Advisory Council and the PFIPC. He was further accused of attempting to obtain office space at the Federal Secretariat, seeking approval to recruit hundreds of workers, pursuing a budget allocation of about ₦1.32 billion in the 2026 Appropriation Act, and planning an international investment summit under the name of the council.

During the hearing, committee members compared signatures on disputed documents with verified government records. The police confirmed that the signatures did not match, strengthening suspicions that several official documents may have been forged.

Gagdi stated that the committee had identified numerous questionable documents, including alleged approvals purportedly issued by the State House, the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, the Federal Ministry of Finance and other government agencies.

The panel is examining how the organisation allegedly secured access to government facilities and sought official recognition despite lacking any legal basis for its existence.

Meanwhile, the Accountant-General of the Federation, Shamseldeen Ogunjimi, told the committee that his office had unknowingly processed requests linked to the council after receiving what appeared to be authentic correspondence from the State House. He later discovered that the communication was allegedly fraudulent.

Ogunjimi explained that the council also applied to open a Treasury Single Account as well as two domiciliary accounts with the Central Bank of Nigeria. While the domiciliary accounts were approved for inflows only, the Treasury Single Account request was declined, and none of the accounts became operational because the necessary conditions were not met.

The House committee says it will continue its investigation to determine how the purported agency operated and whether additional individuals or institutions were involved in the alleged forgery and misrepresentation.