Investigation into PFIPC Gains Traction Following Key Testimony
The House of Representatives’ investigation into the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) intensified on Monday. This follows revelations by Shamsleddeen Ogunjimi, the Federation’s Treasurer-General, who disclosed that the agency used forged state house letters to obtain official government approvals.
Ogunjimi provided this information while testifying before the House of Representatives Select Committee looking into the PFIPC’s creation and operations. Lawmakers are probing allegations that the council has functioned for several months based on falsified presidential approvals and other government documents, all while lacking any legal standing.
The Comptroller General informed the committee that his office first received communication related to this organization in November 2024. The correspondence featured what seemed to be a legitimate state legislative reference number and requested the establishment of governing regulations for the President’s Council of Economic Advisers to enhance budgeting, accounting, and financial reporting processes.
Ogunjimi noted that the request appeared credible and was processed following established government protocols. He explained that subsequent to receiving a letter dated November 7, 2024, his office drafted an administrative law and conveyed its approval to the state legislature, with a copy subsequently sent to the Comptroller General of the Federation.
After this approval, his office received further requests from the council for self-accounting status, staffing needs, the opening of a Treasury Single Account (TSA) and a domicile account, as well as funding requests. Ogunjimi emphasized, however, that despite some administrative steps being taken, no public funds had been allocated to the organization.
Importantly, he clarified that the organization had applied for an establishment grant of ₦27.4 billion, but this application was denied due to the absence of a budgetary provision to support it. The Attorney General of the Federation also informed the Committee that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had opened two accounts for the organization to facilitate financial inflows, but these accounts remained inactive as regulatory requirements had not been satisfied.
Lawmakers Question Bureaucratic Anomalies
The hearing took a compelling turn as lawmakers sought to understand how the supposed agency managed to maneuver through complex government procedures without raising any alarms. In his response, Ogunjimi confirmed that further investigations revealed the letter prompting his office’s actions had not originated from the President.
He stated, “The letter that Treasury received was presented as being from the state legislature,” adding that “this letter was never issued by the state Legislature.” This finding supported earlier evidence indicating that forged presidential approvals and state documents were employed to grant the agency a façade of legitimacy.
Furthermore, lawmakers sought clarification on how civil servants initially assigned to the Office of the President’s Chief Economic Adviser ended up connected with the PFIPC without the knowledge of the Comptroller General’s office. Ogunjimi explained that two treasurers, assigned in 2010 and 2013, remained in the office even after it was allegedly transferred to the new council, yet no formal communication about this transition was sent to his office.
Human Resource Mismanagement Under Scrutiny
He lamented, “We were never informed in writing that these two officers were being taken away,” emphasizing that the officers themselves failed to inform his office of the change. “As far as we were concerned, we believed they were still working in the Office of the Chief Economic Adviser.” Ogunjimi added that when the organization sought to add five finance staff members, only three were approved because the Accountant General deemed the requested staffing levels excessive.
It wasn’t until the investigation came to light that they learned two of their staff had been absorbed into the PFIPC. His office had operated under the belief that they remained within the Office of the Chief Economic Adviser, reinforcing the complexities of this situation.
The committee continues to investigate claims of falsifying presidential approvals, state legislative documents, parliamentary law books, and other governmental records pertaining to both the PFIPC and the Presidential Council of Economic Advisers. Criminal charges relating to conspiracy and fraud have already been filed by the Nigeria Police against Adeyemi Adeniyi, the self-proclaimed Director-General of PFIPC, in the Federal High Court.
During Monday’s proceedings, lawmakers instructed the Inspector General of Police to ensure that Adeniyi appears before the committee by noon on Wednesday to address the alleged falsifications of government documents and clarify his role within the Office of the President.
