By Opeyemi Adelakun
Official documents have raised fresh questions over the Presidency’s insistence that the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) never existed, after records showed that the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) processed an official request submitted in the agency’s name.
The documents revealed that the SGF’s office received and acknowledged a request for office accommodation from the self-acclaimed Director-General of the PFIPC, Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, before forwarding it to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for further action.
The correspondence, dated November 21, 2024, and signed by the Permanent Secretary, General Services Office, Nnamdi Maurice Mbaeri, on behalf of the SGF, forwarded Adeyemi’s earlier request seeking office space from recovered Federal Government properties.
Registry records indicated that Adeyemi’s application, dated November 7, 2024, was received by the SGF’s office on November 12 and transmitted to the EFCC nine days later.
In the request, Adeyemi described the PFIPC as a Federal Government investment promotion agency responsible for attracting foreign direct investment, coordinating investment-related activities across Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), and serving as a one-stop investment centre for investors.
The latest revelations come amid Adeyemi’s ongoing prosecution over allegations that he operated a fictitious government agency, forged a presidential appointment letter allegedly signed by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, and falsely presented himself as Director-General of the PFIPC.
The Federal Government has listed Gbajabiamila and 10 other witnesses in the criminal case before the Federal High Court in Abuja. Prosecutors alleged that Adeyemi and two others still at large forged official presidential documents and used them to establish the non-existent agency.
Police investigators also alleged that Adeyemi held meetings with diplomats, wrote official letters to government institutions, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and operated several bank accounts under the guise of the council before his arrest in October 2025.
A visit to the Federal Secretariat in Abuja reportedly found no office belonging to the PFIPC, while security personnel and civil servants said they had no knowledge of the agency. Investigators also found that the agency’s former government website was no longer accessible.
The Presidency has maintained that the PFIPC never existed, insisting that Adeyemi orchestrated an elaborate fraud. Presidential spokesman Temitope Ajayi said security agencies had been directed to identify and prosecute internal collaborators who allegedly enabled the scheme.
Meanwhile, human rights lawyer Femi Falana has called for an independent investigation involving both Gbajabiamila and Adeyemi, while opposition parties, including the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), have demanded the Chief of Staff’s removal pending the outcome of investigations.
A coalition of civil society organisations also urged President Bola Tinubu to order an independent probe into allegations surrounding the council, including claims relating to budgetary allocations, CBN accounts and official government approvals.
The coalition warned it would stage a peaceful protest at the Presidential Villa if no action is taken within seven days.
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