The House of Representatives has uncovered what it described as a wide network of bank accounts, workers and organisations allegedly connected to the purported Director-General of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), Adeniyi Adeyemi.
The revelations formed part of the findings presented by the House ad hoc committee investigating the alleged inclusion and operations of the PFIPC within the Federal Government’s financial and administrative framework.
According to the committee, investigators traced 58 bank accounts to Adeyemi through Bank Verification Number (BVN) and other identifying information. More than 30 of the accounts were reportedly operated in the names of about nine agencies, companies, foundations or related entities.
The committee, chaired by Yusuf Gagdi, however, stressed that the discovery did not mean every account, transaction or organisation had been established to be unlawful.
It said investigators were still examining account mandates, signatories, beneficial ownership details, registration records and transaction histories before reaching definitive conclusions.
The lawmakers also disclosed that 39 individuals were presented as employees of the alleged organisation across different levels of employment.
The committee said it was investigating their recruitment, appointment letters, identification cards, salaries and allowances, as well as allegations that some applicants were required to pay money to secure jobs.
A major aspect of the investigation is the alleged use of multiple organisations with names associated with government, investment, education, charitable foundations and the United Nations.
The committee identified more than 12 entities allegedly linked directly or indirectly to Adeyemi and said similarities in their names, objectives, management structures, signatories and banking relationships had raised concerns.
According to the lawmakers, investigators are examining whether the entities were allegedly used to create an appearance of legitimacy, obtain government recognition, solicit funds or convince members of the public to invest or make payments.
The committee also received an allegation from a company which claimed it paid approximately N400 million in four instalments after Adeyemi allegedly represented that the money was connected to a contract involving the renovation and furnishing of a purported official residence.
The lawmakers said they were tracing the alleged payments and investigating the ownership and status of the property involved.
Beyond the financial trail, the committee said it found no valid law, executive order, gazetted enactment or other lawful government instrument establishing the PFIPC as a federal institution.
It further alleged that several documents used to portray the organisation as a government body contained signs of fabrication, forgery, alteration and impersonation.
Among the documents examined was a purported presidential appointment letter allegedly signed by Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, appointing Adeyemi as Director-General.
The committee said the State House denied that such an appointment was made or approved and confirmed that Gbajabiamila neither issued nor signed the document.
The lawmakers also said other purported government documents, including an alleged executive order and an alleged National Assembly Act establishing the organisation, were not authentic.
The committee said the findings had raised questions about how the alleged organisation managed to project itself as a federal institution despite the absence of verifiable legal authority.
It added that investigators would distinguish between individuals who may have genuinely believed the organisation was legitimate and those who may have knowingly participated in or benefited from its activities.
The committee said some of the allegations, if established through appropriate investigative and judicial processes, could potentially amount to offences including fraud, impersonation, forgery, conspiracy and obtaining money by false pretence.
