By Chukwudi Obasi, Abuja
The House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee investigating the controversial Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) on Monday directed the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) to produce the council’s Director-General, Adeyemi Adeniyi, alongside 13 senior civil servants over allegations of forged State House documents used in the agency’s operations.
The lawmakers said the officials, drawn from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF), the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) and the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF), are to appear before the committee on Wednesday to explain their roles in the processing of documents linked to the council.
The directive followed fresh revelations at the committee’s investigative hearing that correspondence purportedly emanating from the State House and relied upon by some government offices to process requests on behalf of the PFIPC was later discovered to be fake.
Chairman of the committee, Yusuf Gagdi (APC, Plateau), said Adeniyi’s appearance had become necessary to clarify issues surrounding the authenticity of documents submitted to government institutions in the name of the council.
According to him, the committee was determined to establish the true circumstances surrounding the establishment and operations of the PFIPC before concluding its investigation.
“We will need them to confirm some documents for us in such a way that it will not undermine the ongoing investigation and enable us to submit our report on time,” Gagdi said.
*Committee says appearance crucial to verify documents, protect probe
The committee chairman said the panel had resolved to invite all officials whose names featured during the hearing in order to verify documents already before lawmakers.
“In view of the fact that names of some patriotic Nigerians have been mentioned, agencies have been mentioned, and documents have been alleged to have been mutilated, for the clarity of our findings and recommendations, the committee resolves that the Inspector-General of Police should kindly produce Mr. Adeyemi Adeniyi and the persons mentioned on Wednesday,” he stated.
Earlier, the Accountant-General of the Federation, Shamsudeen Ogunjimi, told the committee that his office’s first official interaction with the PFIPC occurred in November 2024 after it received a letter purportedly issued from the State House.
Represented at the hearing, Ogunjimi said the correspondence directed the Office of the Accountant-General to create an administrative code for the council, open a Treasury Single Account (TSA), establish foreign currency accounts with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and make budgetary provision for the agency in the 2026 Appropriation Bill.
He said while his office declined the request to open a TSA because the council failed to satisfy the statutory requirements, approval was granted for foreign currency accounts strictly for inflows pending the completion of the necessary documentation.
The Accountant-General further disclosed that the PFIPC subsequently applied for self-accounting status, which was granted for an initial six-month period after an internal verification process.
According to him, the council also requested the deployment of five treasury officers, but only three officers were approved.
The hearing, however, took a dramatic turn when Ogunjimi disclosed that subsequent investigations revealed that all the letters purportedly issued by the State House in support of the council were forged.
“It was later discovered that all the letters from the State House to the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation were fake,” he told lawmakers.
He further disclosed that the council had already absorbed two treasury officers who had earlier been deployed to the former Office of the Chief Economic Adviser to the President.
Ogunjimi added that officers involved in processing the disputed documents were already facing internal disciplinary proceedings, while further sanctions would depend on the outcome of the ongoing police investigation.
The committee adjourned the hearing to Wednesday, when the PFIPC Director-General and the summoned government officials are expected to appear before lawmakers as the probe into the council’s legal status and operations enters a crucial stage.
