…says investigation confirms appointment letter was forged
By Precious Mark
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has recommended administrative sanctions for public officers whose acts of omission and negligence enabled the illegal operations of the fake Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC).
The anti-graft agency also established that the appointment letter presented by Adeniyi Adeyemi Mathew as Director-General of the fictitious council was entirely forged and did not originate from the Presidency.
In a statement released on Thursday, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, detailed the findings of the ICPC Chairman, Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu, following the submission of an interim probe report to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the State House, Abuja.
Dr. Aliyu recalled that the President on July 7, 2026, gave the ICPC 30 days to investigate the fake Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council, noting that the deadline had now been met.
He added that the President took the right decision in the spirit of transparency and accountability by directing him to address the media for the benefit of all Nigerians.
The ICPC Chairman noted that the interim report firmly established that Adeyemi was never appointed by the Federal Government, nor was the PFIPC ever created by any law, executive order, or valid government instrument.
Instead, Adeyemi illegally cannibalized the former Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC), appropriating its offices and operational tools to carry out widespread impersonation and illegal activities.
The ICPC Chairman further disclosed that the ICPC discovered two additional fake government agencies set up by the suspect, namely the FCT Investment Promotion Agency (FIFA) and the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency and Public-Private Partnership (FIFA-PPP).
To facilitate their creation, Adeyemi forged legislative instruments styled as Enabling Acts and used them to support the opening of bank accounts.
He noted that the investigation cleared government institutions of financial compromise, affirming that no funds of the Federal Government were approved or disbursed to the fake PFIPC or PEAC, and that no weaknesses were found in the systems of the State House or Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
However, the report established that weaknesses in verification and inter-agency oversight were exploited by Adeyemi, aided by negligence and connivance among certain public officers.
To address these findings, the ICPC recommended that Adeyemi be fully prosecuted for his fraudulent operations.
The commission also called for administrative sanctions to be imposed on public officers whose acts of omission and negligence facilitated the illegal operations of the council, alongside comprehensive institutional reforms to plug administrative loopholes and prevent similar breaches.
The ICPC noted that an active investigation into all operations, activities, and bank accounts linked to the PFIPC, Adeniyi Adeyemi, and his collaborators remains ongoing.