By Opeyemi Adelakun
The House of Representatives has escalated its investigation into the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), issuing a 48-hour ultimatum to ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) that have yet to comply with its summons.
The House Ad-hoc Committee investigating the alleged establishment, funding and operations of the council directed all defaulting agencies to appear before it on Thursday with the relevant officials and documents requested during previous correspondence.
The committee warned that failure to comply would trigger the use of the constitutional powers of the National Assembly to compel attendance and enforce accountability.
Chairman of the committee, Rep. Yusuf Gagdi, described the refusal of some agencies to honour invitations as a direct affront to the oversight authority of the legislature.
“The committee views this conduct as a serious affront to the constitutional oversight powers of the House of Representatives and an unacceptable disregard for the authority of the parliament, which represents the sovereign will of the Nigerian people,” Gagdi said.
He reminded public institutions that invitations issued by committees of the House were backed by the Constitution and must be obeyed.
“It must be clearly understood that invitations issued by a duly constituted Committee of the House of Representatives are not matters of discretion. They are issued pursuant to the constitutional powers vested in the National Assembly under Sections 88 and 89 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended). Compliance is therefore a legal obligation, not an act of courtesy,” he stated.
Gagdi stressed that Thursday’s hearing would serve as the final opportunity for the affected agencies to cooperate voluntarily with the investigation.
“Thursday is the final opportunity for every defaulting agency to comply voluntarily with the lawful directives of this Committee,” he said.
He warned that the committee would not hesitate to invoke every constitutional and statutory provision available if any agency continued to frustrate the investigation.
“Any ministry, department or agency that fails to appear without lawful justification will leave the committee with no alternative but to invoke every constitutional and statutory power available to the House of Representatives to compel compliance and ensure accountability. The Committee will not hesitate to recommend and pursue every sanction permitted by law against any person or institution that deliberately obstructs or frustrates this investigation,” he added.
The lawmaker maintained that the probe was not targeted at any individual or institution but was aimed at uncovering the truth surrounding the operations of the PFIPC and safeguarding the integrity of public administration.
“This investigation is in the national interest. It is not targeted at any individual or institution but is aimed at establishing the facts, protecting the integrity of public administration, safeguarding the rule of law, and ensuring that no public office or institution operates outside the framework of the Constitution and the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” Gagdi said.
The committee also reaffirmed its commitment to conducting the investigation impartially, insisting that no government agency would be allowed to undermine the constitutional authority of the National Assembly.
The inquiry has already heard from the Central Bank of Nigeria, which disclosed that two domiciliary accounts opened in the name of the council remained inactive and recorded no financial transactions despite being created on the mandate of the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.
Other institutions, including the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation and the Office of the Accountant-General, have also appeared before the panel as lawmakers seek to determine how the disputed council found its way into official government records despite questions over its legal status.
The committee also insisted that the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, personally appear before it, declining to accept representation by ministry officials.
Meanwhile, the controversy took another turn as Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, withdrew from representing the alleged Director-General of the council, Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi.
Confirming his decision on Tuesday, Falana simply said, “I have withdrawn from the Adeyemi case.”
Although he declined to state his reasons, sources familiar with the matter said the senior lawyer had advised Adeyemi against making public comments while investigations were ongoing.
The sources alleged that Adeyemi ignored the advice by granting a live interview on Instagram and later informed his counsel that he would not appear in court on the scheduled date of his arraignment, prompting Falana’s withdrawal.
Adeyemi remains under investigation over allegations of forgery, impersonation and conspiracy linked to the operations of the PFIPC, accusations he has consistently denied.
Also on Tuesday, human rights activist and African Action Congress presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, challenged the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to make public the full video of its interrogation of the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, over the PFIPC investigation.
“If the ICPC truly interrogated Tinubu’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, they should release the full, unedited video recording to the public now. All these gimmicks won’t work. We know this is just another smokescreen,” Sowore wrote on his X handle.
The ICPC has maintained that Gbajabiamila was not arrested but merely honoured an invitation from investigators and made a statement before leaving the commission’s headquarters.
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