The House of Representatives ad hoc committee investigating the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) has been told that the agency and its alleged Director-General, Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, are not recognised by the Federal Government.
Appearing before the panel on Tuesday, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Dunoma Umar Ahmed, disclosed that the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) had officially informed the ministry in November 2025 that the PFIPC was not a legitimate government institution.
Ahmed explained that Prince Adeyemi had written to the ministry on three occasions—June 26, 2025, August 5, 2025, and June 5, 2026—seeking the ministry’s support to organise the World Investment Summit in Nigeria.
According to him, the ministry declined the requests after observing discrepancies in the documents submitted and initiated a verification process with the ONSA.
He said the ministry wrote to the ONSA on October 16, 2025, seeking clarification on Prince Adeyemi’s status as Director-General of the PFIPC.
In its response dated November 26, 2025, the ONSA stated that inquiries made with the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF) and the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President confirmed that neither Prince Adeyemi nor the PFIPC was recognised by any Federal Government office.
Ahmed further told lawmakers that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs never partnered with the PFIPC on any diplomatic engagement, bilateral or multilateral negotiations, or investment promotion activities.
He added that the ministry had no record of any memorandum of understanding, agreement, or official document signed between the council and any foreign government.
According to him, no Nigerian foreign mission interacted with the council because the ministry never issued any directive recognising its activities.
Based on the ONSA’s findings, the ministry refused to collaborate with the agency, he said.
Reacting to the testimony, Chairman of the investigative panel, Yusuf Gagdi, questioned why no decisive action appeared to have been taken after the ONSA established in November 2025 that the council was not a recognised government institution.
The committee subsequently invited the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, to appear before the panel on Wednesday to explain the steps taken following the discovery.
The lawmakers also directed the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, to personally appear before the committee to address issues arising from the ministry’s submission.
Gagdi expressed concern over reports that the unrecognised council allegedly engaged with foreign embassies, describing the situation as damaging to Nigeria’s diplomatic reputation.
He stressed that the investigation would be conducted fairly and transparently and insisted that all invited public officials must appear in person rather than send representatives.
The committee commenced its investigation on Monday following its inauguration by House Leader Julius Ihonvbere on behalf of Speaker Abbas Tajudeen.
During Monday’s session, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs Didi Esther Walson-Jack, denied allocating office space to the agency, while a Central Bank of Nigeria official disclosed that two domiciliary accounts in US dollars and pounds sterling were opened in the agency’s name but were never activated because the account opening process was not completed.