The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has submitted an interim report to President Bola Tinubu, recommending the prosecution of Adeniyi Adeyemi over his alleged role in operating the disputed Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC).
ICPC Chairman, Musa Aliyu, presented the report at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, 30 days after President Tinubu directed the anti-graft agency to investigate the controversial council.
According to the commission, preliminary findings showed that Adeyemi was never appointed by the Federal Government as Director-General of the PFIPC.
The investigators also alleged that the appointment letter, gazette and other official documents used to legitimise the agency were forged.
“Our recommendation is that Mr Adeniyi Adeyemi should be prosecuted,” Aliyu said.
The commission further disclosed that no Federal Government funds were approved or released to the fake PFIPC, despite the agency’s alleged operations.
Aliyu said the investigation uncovered serious weaknesses in government verification and oversight systems, which he said were exploited to give the impression that the PFIPC was a legitimate government institution.
“Our interim report found that there are weaknesses in verification, inter-agency oversight and government processes.
”We discovered that those weaknesses were exploited by Adeniyi, with some level of negligence,” he stated.
Investigators also alleged that Adeyemi established two additional organisations—the FCT Investment Promotion Agency (FIPA) and the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency and Public Private Partnership (PIPA-PPP)—using what the ICPC described as forged legislative instruments to facilitate the opening of bank accounts.
Beyond recommending criminal prosecution, the anti-corruption agency called for administrative sanctions against public officials whose negligence allegedly enabled the operations of the fake agency.
It also urged comprehensive reforms to strengthen internal controls across Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
Aliyu stressed that the report submitted to President Tinubu is only interim, adding that investigations are continuing to identify other collaborators and build a stronger criminal case.
The PFIPC controversy gained national attention after the Presidency disowned the council, declaring it a non-existent government agency despite its appearance in the 2026 Appropriation Act with a N1.3 billion budget allocation.
The Federal Government has already filed criminal charges against Adeyemi, including allegations of forgery, impersonation and fraudulent misrepresentation, while separate investigations by the House of Representatives and the ICPC remain ongoing.
