The House of Representatives ad hoc committee investigating the activities of the purported Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) has uncovered 29 allegedly forged official documents linked to the fake agency and its self-acclaimed Director-General, Adeniyi Adeyemi Mathew.
Chairman of the committee, Yusuf Gagdi, disclosed the findings on Monday during the appearance of the Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF), Shamseldeen Ogunjimi, before the panel.
According to Gagdi, the forged documents were purportedly issued by the State House, the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF), the Federal Ministry of Finance and other government institutions. One of the documents allegedly carried the forged signature of the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila.
The committee also summoned 13 civil servants from the OSGF, the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation and the Office of the Head of the Civil Service to appear before it to explain their involvement in the activities of the alleged agency.
Lawmakers further directed the Inspector-General of Police to produce Adeyemi before the committee by noon on Tuesday. Adeyemi has remained in police custody since his arrest in Osun State on July 15 following a bench warrant issued after he allegedly failed to appear in court over criminal charges.
Gagdi said the committee required the suspect’s presence to verify documents and clarify issues surrounding the investigation.
Assistant Commissioner of Police Bashir Abdullahi, who represented the Inspector-General of Police, confirmed that investigations had established that several documents issued in the name of the purported council were fake.
He told lawmakers that the police had already filed an eight-count charge against Adeyemi before the Federal High Court, adding that the matter remained before the court.
The police also confirmed receiving a petition from the Chief of Staff to the President on October 17, 2025, alleging that Adeyemi falsely presented himself as the Director-General of both the Presidential Economic Advisory Council and the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council.
According to the police, the suspect allegedly used the fake office to secure accommodation at the Federal Secretariat, sought approval to recruit about 300 staff, attempted to include about $1.3 billion in the 2026 Appropriation Bill for the non-existent agency and planned a World Investment Summit under the council’s platform.
During the hearing, lawmakers compared signatures on documents allegedly issued by the Office of the Chief of Staff with authentic correspondence obtained by the police. The police confirmed that the signatures did not match, reinforcing suspicions that State House documents had been forged.
The committee noted that several government institutions had already appeared before it and denied issuing the documents attributed to them.
Appearing before the panel, Accountant-General Shamseldeen Ogunjimi explained that his office followed normal administrative procedures based on official documents presented to the Treasury.
He said the Treasury first received correspondence concerning the council in November 2024, before he assumed office. Acting on a letter bearing State House letterhead, the Office of the Accountant-General created an administrative code for the council and notified the Budget Office in line with standard procedures.
Ogunjimi also explained that after the council requested self-accounting status, Treasury officials inspected its office and recommended only a six-month provisional approval because it did not meet all required conditions.
He disclosed that two Treasury staff originally deployed to the Office of the Chief Economic Adviser to the President had been absorbed by the purported council without the Treasury’s knowledge. When the council later requested five additional officers, only three were approved.
On the opening of bank accounts, Ogunjimi said the council requested a Treasury Single Account and two domiciliary accounts for a proposed World Investment Summit. While the Central Bank approved the domiciliary accounts strictly for foreign currency inflows, the Treasury declined the TSA request, and the accounts never became operational because necessary conditions were not met.
The Accountant-General further revealed that although the Ministry of Finance sought advice on a proposed take-off grant of N27.4 billion for the council, no approval was granted because there was no budgetary allocation for the agency.
He maintained that no personnel, overhead, capital or intervention funds were ever released to the purported council and insisted that the Treasury acted in good faith, relying on documents that appeared to be authentic before later discovering they were allegedly forged.