Reps Uncover 29 Allegedly Forged Documents in PFIPC Scandal, Give Police 48 Hours to Produce ‘DG’

The House of Representatives has uncovered what lawmakers described as an elaborate attempt to give legitimacy to the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), with investigators identifying about 29 documents allegedly forged in the name of top government institutions.

The development emerged on Monday as the House Ad Hoc Committee probing the council resumed its investigative hearing and directed the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, to produce the self-acclaimed Director-General of the PFIPC, Adeyemi Adeniyi, before the committee within 48 hours.

Chairman of the committee, Hon. Yusuf Gagdi (APC, Plateau), said the discovery had significantly widened the scope of the investigation, noting that the suspected forgeries went beyond individual letters to documents purportedly establishing the council itself.

According to Gagdi, one of the documents under scrutiny was a purported Act of the National Assembly allegedly used to create the agency.

The committee said it had identified about 29 suspicious documents, including purported approvals and official correspondence attributed to the State House, the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, the Federal Ministry of Finance and other government institutions.

Gagdi said representatives of several affected institutions had appeared before the committee and disowned documents allegedly issued in their names.

The committee subsequently directed its Clerk, Baba Kaigama, to formally notify the Inspector-General of Police to ensure that Adeniyi appears before lawmakers by noon on Wednesday.

Police confirm criminal investigation

The demand for Adeniyi’s appearance followed revelations from the Nigeria Police Force that criminal investigations had already been instituted against him.

Representing the Inspector-General of Police, Assistant Commissioner of Police Bashir Abdullahi told the committee that the police had investigated part of the case and filed an eight-count charge against Adeniyi before the Federal High Court.

He said the suspect had been arrested and arraigned, but cautioned the committee against making disclosures capable of prejudicing the ongoing investigation and court proceedings.

The police also confirmed receiving a petition dated October 17, 2025, from the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President, alleging that Adeniyi falsely presented himself as the Director-General of both the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC) and the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council.

The petition reportedly alleged that the purported office was used to seek accommodation within the Federal Secretariat, obtain approval to recruit about 300 personnel, pursue a N1.3 billion allocation in the 2026 Appropriation Act and plan a World Investment Summit.

Signature discrepancy raises fresh questions

The committee also examined documents purportedly originating from the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President and compared signatures on them with authentic official correspondence.

When asked whether the signatures matched, ACP Abdullahi responded that they did not.

The discrepancy, lawmakers said, further heightened concerns that some of the documents used by the purported council may have been forged.

How the alleged scheme reached the Treasury

A major revelation came from the Accountant-General of the Federation, Shamseldeen Ogunjimi, who told lawmakers that the Treasury had acted on correspondence it believed originated from the State House.

Ogunjimi said a letter dated November 7, 2024, bearing a State House reference number, requested the creation of an administrative code for the Presidential Economic Advisory Council to facilitate budgeting, accounting and financial reporting.

The Treasury processed the request and created the administrative code before communicating its approval to the State House.

The development later triggered additional requests allegedly linked to the purported council, including applications for self-accounting status, deployment of personnel, the opening of Treasury Single Account and domiciliary accounts, as well as funding approvals.

However, Ogunjimi stressed that no public funds were released to the organisation.

He said a request for an establishment grant of N27.4 billion was rejected because there was no budgetary provision for it.

Although the Central Bank of Nigeria subsequently opened two domiciliary accounts for the organisation, the accounts were never activated because the necessary regulatory requirements were not fulfilled.

‘The letter was hijacked’

Ogunjimi told lawmakers that the alleged fraud was initially difficult to detect because the correspondence received by the Treasury appeared to have come from the State House.

He said the Treasury later discovered that its response to the purported State House request never reached the Presidency.

According to him, the response was allegedly intercepted by the same individual who claimed to be the council’s Director-General.

The revelation raised questions about how official correspondence was allegedly intercepted and subsequently used to advance the activities of an organisation whose legitimacy was under investigation.

Treasury unaware of staff attachment

The committee also questioned the Accountant-General over how some civil servants originally posted to the Office of the Chief Economic Adviser to the President came to be attached to the purported council.

Ogunjimi said the Treasury received no formal communication informing it that the affected officials had been transferred or absorbed by another organisation.

He explained that the Treasury believed the officials remained with the Office of the Chief Economic Adviser because there was no official notification indicating otherwise.

The issue only came to light after the controversy surrounding the purported council emerged.

Probe continues

The House of Representatives constituted the ad hoc committee to investigate how the controversial PFIPC found its way into the 2026 Appropriation framework.

The investigation has already produced several revelations, including confirmation that two foreign-currency domiciliary accounts were opened for the organisation but never activated.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also reportedly told the committee that it rejected requests from the purported agency after due diligence raised concerns about inconsistencies in its documentation.

With the committee now demanding the appearance of Adeniyi, lawmakers are expected to seek clarification on the origins of the documents, the identities of those behind the alleged scheme and how the purported council was able to engage multiple government institutions.

The committee said hearing directly from the self-acclaimed Director-General was now critical to its investigation, particularly because the controversy involves the names and institutional integrity of several government offices.

The investigation is ongoing, while the allegations remain subject to further findings by the House committee, the police and the courts.