President Bola Ahmed Tinubu orders ICPC to probe the controversial Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) and all related matters.
The President also directed that the investigation be concluded and a comprehensive report submitted to him within 30 days. He further directed that all persons found culpable be treated strictly in accordance with applicable law. This was contained in a statement issued on Tuesday by presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga. According to the statement, the directive given to the ICPC followed the discovery of “the fictitious PFIPC.”
Onanuga maintained that the agency was never established by the Federal Government of Nigeria and has no basis in any law, presidential instrument, executive approval, or other lawful act of Government.
Fictitious Agency Discovered in Appropriation Act
The PFIPC made national headlines recently after it was discovered listed in the 2026 Appropriation Act with a proposed ₦1.3 billion budget allocation. One Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, who was reportedly the agency’s Director-General, had pointed finger at the President’s Chief of Staff, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila who, in turn, slammed ₦10 billion defamation suit against him. In his statement, Onanuga contended that Adeniyi “falsely claimed to be a presidential appointee.” This follows other federal efforts to investigate big technology companies over unfair conduct.
He said among the issues to be investigated are the forged appointment letters and other official government documents; the use of a false claim of presidential appointment to seek or obtain official recognition and diplomatic support, including visa facilitation; and the opening of multiple bank accounts in the names of purported government agencies using allegedly forged documents.
He added that Tinubu directed the ICPC to investigate not only the conduct of the principal individual and other collaborators involved but also the wider circumstances that may have enabled a fictitious body and a false claim of presidential appointment to acquire an appearance of official legitimacy. Details of the commission’s anti-corruption campaigns can be checked on the ICPC official website.
His words: “The investigation is to examine the provenance and use of false official documents; the processes through which official recognition or diplomatic support may have been sought or obtained; the opening and operation of any related bank accounts; the source and movement of any funds involved; and the role of any public officer, private individual, financial institution, intermediary or other person or entity that may have facilitated, enabled or participated in the alleged scheme.” Tinubu, he continued, further directed the anti-graft agency to identify any weaknesses in government and institutional procedures that may have been exploited and to recommend immediate measures to prevent the recurrence of similar abuses.
“All ministries, departments and agencies of the Federal Government have been directed to provide the ICPC, upon lawful request, with all relevant information, records and assistance required for the expeditious completion of the investigation,” Onanuga pointed out. Tinubu noted that the integrity of the Presidency and the institutions of the Federal Government must be protected against impersonation, forgery, abuse of official identity and the exploitation of weaknesses in the public service.
