PFIPC Under Fire: ICPC Uncovers More Alleged Fake Agencies In Expanding Scandal

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has uncovered two additional agencies allegedly created by the detained Director-General of the purported Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), Adeniyi Adeyemi, using forged government documents.

According to findings contained in the commission’s interim report, Adeyemi allegedly established the FCT Investment Promotion Agency (FIPA) and the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency and Public-Private Partnership (FIPA-PPP), presenting both as legitimate government institutions.

The ICPC said Adeyemi subsequently used documents purportedly establishing the agencies to facilitate the opening of commercial bank accounts in their names.

The findings are part of an investigation ordered by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu into the activities of the PFIPC.

In its interim report submitted to the President, the ICPC concluded that Adeyemi was never appointed by the Federal Government and that the PFIPC was not created through legislation, an executive order or any other valid government instrument.

The commission recommended that Adeyemi be prosecuted for alleged impersonation, forgery, criminal misrepresentation and other related offences.

Adeyemi and other defendants have already been charged by the police over allegations linked to the controversy.

The ICPC said Adeyemi forged legislative instruments titled the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency and Public-Private Partnership Act (FIPA-PPP), Chapter N2117, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, as well as the FCT Investment Promotion Agency Act.

According to the commission, the two documents were variations of the same forged legislation previously used in connection with the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC) and PFIPC.

The PEAC was established by former President Muhammadu Buhari to provide economic advice but ceased to exist after he left office. The ICPC believes Adeyemi used the name of the former council to further his alleged activities.

Investigators found that Adeyemi relied on the forged documents to present the two organisations as federal government agencies and open bank accounts in their names.

The commission also discovered that the account-opening documents reviewed by investigators lacked the mandatory authorisation from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF), which ministries, departments and agencies are required to obtain before operating accounts with commercial banks.

The instructions to open the accounts were allegedly issued by individuals identified in the documents as the chairman and secretary of the PEAC, Adekunle Ajayi and Lovina Akabueze, respectively.

Adeyemi was named as Director-General and Chief Executive Officer and was listed as the sole signatory to the accounts, according to the investigation.

The ICPC recommended that the managing director, chief compliance officer and relationship or account officer responsible for the Unity Bank accounts be invited for questioning. It also recommended interviews with relevant OAGF officials, Ajayi and Akabueze.

The commission further called for a broader examination of bank accounts linked to Adeyemi, as well as other sources of funds he allegedly claimed to have obtained as loans.

Adeyemi’s Activities Extended Beyond PFIPC

The creation of the two alleged fictitious agencies was part of what the ICPC described as Adeyemi’s broader efforts to make the PFIPC appear to be an established government institution.

The commission said Adeyemi wrote to several government agencies seeking collaboration and attempting to assume responsibilities that properly belonged to existing institutions.

His activities allegedly included seeking involvement in Federal Executive Council matters, the collection of stamp duties and excess bank charges, processing visas for foreign investors, collecting import duties, maritime revenue and temporary import permits.

The ICPC said these activities encroached on the mandates of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Council (NIPC), Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) and Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA).

Adeyemi also reportedly attempted to organise a World Investment Summit.

As part of the preparations, he hosted members of Nigeria’s diplomatic community and international investors at the Wells Carlton Hotel and Apartment in Abuja on October 10, 2025, for a pre-summit dinner.

According to the ICPC, the event was organised without formal coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The gathering subsequently became one of the developments that triggered questions about the legitimacy of the PFIPC.

On October 16, 2025, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs wrote to the Chief of Staff to the President and the National Security Adviser seeking clarification regarding Adeyemi’s status following his engagements with members of the diplomatic community.

Checks conducted by the Office of the National Security Adviser reportedly established that the PFIPC was not a federal government entity and that Adeyemi was an impostor who had never been appointed by the government.

The Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, subsequently petitioned law enforcement agencies, leading to an investigation that disrupted Adeyemi’s activities.

The police later charged Adeyemi and two other defendants with offences including conspiracy, forgery and impersonation.

However, the disruption of the PFIPC did not immediately stop Adeyemi’s efforts to organise the proposed investment summit.

The ICPC said he later operated under another organisation known as the “World Investment Summit Group” and opened an account with Moore Money Microfinance Bank.

According to the commission, the account recorded total inflows of N71.7 million, although investigators found no evidence that any of the funds came from government sources.

Adeyemi allegedly continued communicating with members of the public under the name of the World Investment Summit Group even after the scheme had been exposed and disrupted in October 2025.

The ICPC concluded that the PFIPC operated through a combination of alleged misrepresentation, forgery, compromised officials and administrative engagements designed to create the appearance of a recognised federal government institution.

The commission said the case exposed weaknesses in verification procedures within some government institutions.

According to the ICPC, these gaps enabled the purported council to gain access to government processes, including budget consideration, office allocation, digital identity registration and engagements with diplomatic stakeholders.