Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) says it has uncovered two additional fake government agencies while investigating the activities of Adeniyi Matthew Adeyemi, who allegedly paraded himself as the Director-General of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC).
The ICPC Chairman, Dr Musa Adamu Aliyu, disclosed this on Thursday after presenting the commission’s interim investigation report to President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Aliyu said the investigation established that Adeyemi was never appointed by the Federal Government and that the PFIPC was not created by any law or executive order.
“Our investigation confirmed that the appointment letter presented by Adeyemi was forged, while the PFIPC was never legally established by the Federal Government,” he said.
According to him, the purported agency took over offices and facilities previously occupied by the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC) and used them to carry out activities allegedly involving false representation and impersonation.
The ICPC chairman said the investigation also uncovered two other purported government agencies — the FCT Investment Promotion Agency (PIFA) and the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency (PIPA).
He said the two entities were allegedly created using forged legislative documents and were used to open bank accounts for activities the commission described as illegal.
“Our investigation showed that Adeyemi changed the name of the fake agency from the Foreign Investment Promotion Council to the Foreign Intervention Promotion Council and also tried to expand its activities to include revenue generation,” Aliyu said.
He, however, said the investigation found no evidence that government funds were approved or released to the purported agency.
Aliyu also said the investigation found no security lapses within the State House or the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) that facilitated the activities of the purported agency.
The ICPC chairman disclosed that the investigation had identified alleged collaborators from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, the Budget Office and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).
He said the commission had recommended the prosecution of Adeyemi, administrative sanctions against public officers found to have assisted the alleged illegal operation, as well as reforms to strengthen internal controls across government institutions.
Aliyu stressed that the report presented to the President was an interim report, noting that investigations were still ongoing.
He said the commission was working to uncover further details and prepare criminal charges against Adeyemi and any other persons found to have collaborated with him.
