Commission says appointment documents were forged, finds no federal funds were disbursed to the disputed agency.
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has submitted an interim report to President Bola Tinubu on its investigation into the alleged fictitious Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), recommending the prosecution of its alleged Director-General, Adeniyi Adeyemi.
ICPC Chairman, Musa Aliyu, disclosed this on Thursday after briefing the President at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, exactly 30 days after President Tinubu directed the commission to investigate the controversial agency.
Aliyu said preliminary findings showed that Adeyemi was never appointed by the Federal Government and that the appointment letter, gazette and other documents used to establish the PFIPC were forged.
According to him, investigators also uncovered major weaknesses in government verification and oversight processes, which were allegedly exploited to present the PFIPC as a legitimate government institution.
“Our interim report found weaknesses in verification, inter-agency oversight and government processes. Those gaps were exploited by Adeniyi, with some level of negligence,” Aliyu said.
He added that the commission found no evidence that Federal Government funds were approved or disbursed to the PFIPC or its related entity, the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC).
The ICPC further alleged that Adeyemi created two additional entities—the FCT Investment Promotion Agency (FIFA) and the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency and Public Private Partnership (PIPA-PPP)—using forged legislative instruments to facilitate the opening of bank accounts.
The commission recommended Adeyemi’s prosecution, administrative sanctions against public officers whose negligence enabled the operation of the fake agency, and institutional reforms to strengthen internal controls across Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
Aliyu said investigations are continuing to identify other collaborators and gather more evidence for criminal prosecution.
The PFIPC controversy emerged after the Presidency disowned the council despite its appearance in the 2026 Appropriation Act with a ₦1.3 billion budget allocation. The Federal Government has since filed criminal charges against Adeyemi over allegations including forgery, impersonation and fraudulent misrepresentation, while separate investigations by the House of Representatives and the ICPC remain ongoing.