PFIPC Scandal: ICPC Indicts Alleged Fake DG, Submits Interim Findings to Tinubu
President Tinubu receives ICPC interim report of the investigation into the fictitious Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council, with the agency recommending the immediate prosecution of Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, the ‘fake DG’
ICPC Chairman Musa Adamu, SAN, disclosed this after briefing President Tinubu today at the Presidential Villa.
He said the investigation had conclusively established that Adeyemi was never appointed by the Federal Government.
He added that the PFIPC, also referred to in some documents as the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, was never created by any law, Executive Order, or valid government instrument.
Adamu said, “The appointment letter presented by the suspect, along with other supporting documents, was completely forged and did not originate from the Presidency.”
He added that investigators also uncovered two additional fictitious agencies allegedly established by Adeyemi using forged legislative instruments: the FCT Investment Promotion Agency and the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency/Public-Private Partnership, which the suspect used to open bank accounts and carry out unauthorised activities.
Adamu said Adeyemi had unlawfully taken over the office of the defunct Presidential Economic Advisory Council after gaining unauthorised access to the facility and had used the location to project legitimacy for his fake agency to visitors, government officials and foreign diplomats.
The ICPC chairman also said that no federal government funds were approved or disbursed to the fake agency, and no security breach was found within the presidency or the Central Bank of Nigeria.
He, however, said that the investigation identified institutional weaknesses in some MDAs that allowed Adeyemi to operate for an extended period without detection, adding that these lapses, compounded by negligence on the part of some public officers, enabled the suspect to operate unchecked.
The MDAs include the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, the Budget Office and the National Information Technology Development Agency.
He said that based on the findings, the commission had made three recommendations.
They include the prosecution of Adeyemi Matthew, administrative sanctions against public officers whose acts of omission facilitated the operation of the fake agency, and institutional reforms to strengthen internal controls across the affected MDAs.
He noted that the report submitted to the President was an interim one, with criminal investigations continuing to uncover further evidence and identify any collaborators before formal charges are filed in court.
The report follows President Tinubu’s directive of July 7, 2026, ordering the ICPC to conduct a comprehensive 30-day investigation into the PFIPC scandal after weeks of public controversy involving allegations linking the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, to Adeyemi’s claims of a forged appointment.
