The Independent Corrupt Practices and related Offences Commission (ICPC) has in its interim report on the investigation of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC). recommended the prosecution of the fake agency’s promoter, Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, for using forged documents to create the council and his appointment as the Director-General.
The ICPC Chairman, Dr. Musa Aliyu (SAN), who revealed the commission’s findings on the PFIPC on Thursday at the Presidential Villa in Abuja while presenting an interim report to President Bola Tinubu, said the investigation confirmed that Adeyemi held no valid Federal Government appointment and that the PFIPC lacked any backing in law, executive order, or official mandate.
Aliyu added that the appointment letter and supporting documents used to run the bogus council were entirely forged, adding that the anti-graft commission also discovers that the PFIPC unlawfully appropriated the identity, offices and operational instruments of the former Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC) while engaging in widespread impersonation, false representation and other illegal activities.
The commission also confirmed that no Federal Government fund was approved or disbursed to the fake PFIPC or the PEAC, adding that investigators found no weaknesses in the operational systems of the State House or the Central Bank of Nigeria and that the fake appointment letter does not originate from the Presidency.
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Aliyu further revealed that the PFIPC promoted allegedly established two additional fictitious government agencies-the FCT Investment Promotion Agency (FIPA) and the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency and Public Private Partnership (FIPA-PPP), using forged legislative instruments presented as enabling Acts to facilitate the opening of bank accounts.
The ICPC chairman maintained that while the investigation uncovered weaknesses in verification processes, inter-agency oversight and administrative procedures, there were also acts of negligence and possible connivance that enabled the fraudulent operation.
In addition to recommending Adeyemi’s prosecution, the commission also called for administrative sanctions against public officers whose omissions facilitated the illegal operations and proposed far-reaching institutional reforms to prevent a recurrence.
Aliyu told the President that investigations were continuing into the activities, bank accounts and alleged collaborators linked to Adeyemi and the fake agencies.
