A major financial trail has emerged in the unfolding Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) scandal, with the House of Representatives uncovering about 58 bank accounts allegedly linked to its disputed Director-General, Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi.
The House ad hoc committee probing the purported agency also traced about 12 agencies, companies and foundations to Adeyemi and is investigating an alleged N400 million transaction involving a company that claimed it was induced to make payments after being promised a government contract.
The explosive findings were contained in the committee’s preliminary report presented on Wednesday by its chairman, Yusuf Gagdi.
The probe was launched after the PFIPC mysteriously found its way into Nigeria’s 2026 Appropriation Bill, despite the Federal Government later insisting that no such agency had ever been legally established. President Bola Tinubu subsequently ordered the ICPC to investigate the scandal.
According to the lawmakers, financial records showed that the Bank Verification Number and other identifying details associated with Adeyemi were linked to about 58 accounts.
More than 30 of the accounts were allegedly operated in the names of about nine organisations, companies, foundations or related entities.
The committee, however, stressed that the discovery did not mean every account or transaction was illegal, saying it was still examining ownership, signatories, beneficial owners and transaction histories.
N400M MONEY TRAIL
The alleged N400 million deal is another major focus of the investigation.
The committee said a company alleged that Adeyemi persuaded it to pay about N400 million in four instalments, based on representations that he could secure a contract for the renovation, furnishing or improvement of a residence purportedly allocated to him as PFIPC director-general.
Investigators are now tracing where the money went and who ultimately controlled or benefited from the accounts involved.
‘FAKE’ GOVERNMENT PAPERS
The committee also found that the purported PFIPC had no valid Act of the National Assembly, Executive Order or other lawful instrument establishing it.
More disturbing, lawmakers said documents allegedly used to give the organisation government legitimacy—including a purported presidential appointment letter for Adeyemi, an Executive Order and an alleged Act of the National Assembly—showed signs of fabrication, forgery or alteration.
The committee said State House records showed that the alleged appointment letter carrying the name and purported authority of Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, was not issued or signed by him.
GBaja CLEARED
The panel consequently found no evidence linking Gbajabiamila to the creation or operation of the purported agency.
Instead, it said he had alerted security and investigative agencies after the matter was brought to his attention.
The committee also raised questions about how the purported agency managed to obtain government office accommodation, budgetary recognition, official-looking number plates and access to government systems despite allegedly having no legal foundation.
The PFIPC had also presented itself online and through its activities as a Federal Government institution, while allegedly using the names and images of senior government officials.
The committee said about 39 people were presented as employees of the purported organisation, with lawmakers investigating their recruitment, appointment letters, identity cards and allegations of payments demanded from prospective workers.
The panel said the investigation was continuing and warned that its findings were preliminary and not a declaration of criminal guilt, which can only be determined by a court.
It recommended tighter checks before new government agencies, budget codes, official correspondence and government facilities are approved.
The final report is expected to be submitted to the House after its annual recess, with possible criminal, financial, administrative and disciplinary action to follow where evidence warrants it.
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