Femi Gbajabiamila
BY FRONTLINE REPORTERS
Fresh official documents have raised new questions over the Presidency’s insistence that the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) never existed.
Documents exclusively obtained by Frontline Reporters show that the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) not only received correspondence from officials of the purported council but also formally processed and forwarded one of its requests to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for action.
The development appears to contradict the Presidency’s position that the PFIPC was a fictitious organisation with no official recognition.
The correspondence, dated November 21, 2024, was signed by the Permanent Secretary, General Services Office, Nnamdi Maurice Mbaeri, on behalf of the SGF. It transmitted to the EFCC a request by the council’s self-acclaimed Director-General, Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, seeking office accommodation from recovered Federal Government properties.
Attached to the letter was Adeyemi’s earlier request, dated November 7, 2024, asking for office space for the PFIPC.
Official registry stamps indicate that the SGF’s office acknowledged receipt of the request on November 12 before forwarding it to the anti-graft agency nine days later.
Titled “Request for Office Accommodation,” the forwarding letter informed the EFCC that three Federal Government institutions had applied for office accommodation from recovered government properties. One of the requests was specifically identified as coming from the Director-General of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council.
“I am directed to forward the attached copies of letters requesting allocation of office accommodation from the recovered Federal Government landed properties for further necessary action,” the letter stated.
In his application to the SGF, Adeyemi presented the PFIPC as a Federal Government investment promotion agency established to attract foreign direct investment and coordinate investment-related activities across ministries, departments and agencies.
He described the council as a one-stop investment centre responsible for promoting Nigeria as a preferred investment destination, facilitating public-private sector collaboration, coordinating investment policies and serving as the nation’s repository of investment information.
According to the letter, the council’s vision was to make Nigeria the world’s preferred investment destination by identifying and promoting investment opportunities capable of creating jobs and stimulating economic growth.
The documents surfaced as Adeyemi faces criminal prosecution over allegations that he operated a fictitious government agency, forged a presidential appointment letter purportedly signed by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, and falsely presented himself as Director-General of the PFIPC.
He is also accused of operating 34 bank accounts, including some allegedly opened in the names of government agencies, and conducting official engagements, including meetings with diplomats, under the banner of the council.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Presidency, through the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, maintained that the PFIPC never existed, describing it as a fictitious organisation allegedly created by Adeyemi to perpetrate fraud.
Meanwhile, court documents obtained by Frontline Reporters show that the Federal Government has listed Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, and 10 other witnesses in the criminal trial against Adeyemi before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Adeyemi and two other suspects, identified simply as Femi and Anu, who remain at large, are facing an eight-count charge bordering on conspiracy, forgery, impersonation and related offences allegedly committed between 2024 and 2025.
Prosecutors alleged that the defendants forged presidential documents bearing official insignia, reference numbers and seals to create legitimacy for the purported agency.
An interim report by the Inspector-General of Police Monitoring Unit stated that investigations began following a petition from the Office of the Chief of Staff after concerns emerged over forged appointment letters purportedly issued from the Presidency.
Investigators alleged that Adeyemi wrote to several government institutions, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, seeking diplomatic assistance and visa facilitation for individuals he claimed were officials of the council.
Police said he was arrested on October 27, 2025, following intelligence gathering and surveillance, during which investigators recovered alleged forged appointment letters, official letterheads, correspondence with Ministries, Departments and Agencies, and documents bearing presidential insignia.
Further checks by Frontline Reporters revealed that no office belonging to the PFIPC could be located at the Federal Secretariat in Abuja. Security personnel and civil servants contacted said they had no knowledge of the agency, while no office signage bearing its name was found.
However, investigations showed that the agency previously operated a website on the Federal Government domain, www.pfipc.gov.ng, although the site has since been taken offline. Open-source intelligence records indicate the domain was last active in April 2025.
Reacting to the controversy on Friday, the Presidency vowed that any government officials found to have collaborated with Adeyemi would be identified and prosecuted.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, said investigators from the Department of State Services, the Nigeria Police Force and the EFCC had been directed to uncover the full extent of the alleged criminal network.
“What is not in doubt is that internal collaborators enabled Adeniyi to get this far. The criminal network within the affected institutions must be dismantled, and everyone found to have played a role should be arrested and prosecuted,” Ajayi stated.
He insisted that the alleged fraud was eventually uncovered through internal government processes after officials of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs raised concerns over the council’s activities.
Despite the Presidency’s assurances, the controversy has continued to attract criticism from opposition parties, civil society organisations and senior lawyer Femi Falana (SAN), all of whom have called for an independent investigation into the allegations, including claims relating to budgetary allocations, Central Bank accounts and the alleged involvement of senior government officials
Fresh official documents have raised new questions over the Presidency’s insistence that the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) never existed.
Documents exclusively obtained by Frontline Reporters show that the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) not only received correspondence from officials of the purported council but also formally processed and forwarded one of its requests to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for action.
The development appears to contradict the Presidency’s position that the PFIPC was a fictitious organisation with no official recognition.
The correspondence, dated November 21, 2024, was signed by the Permanent Secretary, General Services Office, Nnamdi Maurice Mbaeri, on behalf of the SGF. It transmitted to the EFCC a request by the council’s self-acclaimed Director-General, Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, seeking office accommodation from recovered Federal Government properties.
Attached to the letter was Adeyemi’s earlier request, dated November 7, 2024, asking for office space for the PFIPC.
Official registry stamps indicate that the SGF’s office acknowledged receipt of the request on November 12 before forwarding it to the anti-graft agency nine days later.
Titled “Request for Office Accommodation,” the forwarding letter informed the EFCC that three Federal Government institutions had applied for office accommodation from recovered government properties. One of the requests was specifically identified as coming from the Director-General of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council.
“I am directed to forward the attached copies of letters requesting allocation of office accommodation from the recovered Federal Government landed properties for further necessary action,” the letter stated.
In his application to the SGF, Adeyemi presented the PFIPC as a Federal Government investment promotion agency established to attract foreign direct investment and coordinate investment-related activities across ministries, departments and agencies.
He described the council as a one-stop investment centre responsible for promoting Nigeria as a preferred investment destination, facilitating public-private sector collaboration, coordinating investment policies and serving as the nation’s repository of investment information.
According to the letter, the council’s vision was to make Nigeria the world’s preferred investment destination by identifying and promoting investment opportunities capable of creating jobs and stimulating economic growth.
The documents surfaced as Adeyemi faces criminal prosecution over allegations that he operated a fictitious government agency, forged a presidential appointment letter purportedly signed by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, and falsely presented himself as Director-General of the PFIPC.
He is also accused of operating 34 bank accounts, including some allegedly opened in the names of government agencies, and conducting official engagements, including meetings with diplomats, under the banner of the council.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Presidency, through the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, maintained that the PFIPC never existed, describing it as a fictitious organisation allegedly created by Adeyemi to perpetrate fraud.
Meanwhile, court documents obtained by Frontline Reporters show that the Federal Government has listed Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, and 10 other witnesses in the criminal trial against Adeyemi before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Adeyemi and two other suspects, identified simply as Femi and Anu, who remain at large, are facing an eight-count charge bordering on conspiracy, forgery, impersonation and related offences allegedly committed between 2024 and 2025.
Prosecutors alleged that the defendants forged presidential documents bearing official insignia, reference numbers and seals to create legitimacy for the purported agency.
An interim report by the Inspector-General of Police Monitoring Unit stated that investigations began following a petition from the Office of the Chief of Staff after concerns emerged over forged appointment letters purportedly issued from the Presidency.
Investigators alleged that Adeyemi wrote to several government institutions, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, seeking diplomatic assistance and visa facilitation for individuals he claimed were officials of the council.
Police said he was arrested on October 27, 2025, following intelligence gathering and surveillance, during which investigators recovered alleged forged appointment letters, official letterheads, correspondence with Ministries, Departments and Agencies, and documents bearing presidential insignia.
Further checks by Frontline Reporters revealed that no office belonging to the PFIPC could be located at the Federal Secretariat in Abuja. Security personnel and civil servants contacted said they had no knowledge of the agency, while no office signage bearing its name was found.
However, investigations showed that the agency previously operated a website on the Federal Government domain, www.pfipc.gov.ng, although the site has since been taken offline. Open-source intelligence records indicate the domain was last active in April 2025.
Reacting to the controversy on Friday, the Presidency vowed that any government officials found to have collaborated with Adeyemi would be identified and prosecuted.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, said investigators from the Department of State Services, the Nigeria Police Force and the EFCC had been directed to uncover the full extent of the alleged criminal network.
“What is not in doubt is that internal collaborators enabled Adeniyi to get this far. The criminal network within the affected institutions must be dismantled, and everyone found to have played a role should be arrested and prosecuted,” Ajayi stated.
He insisted that the alleged fraud was eventually uncovered through internal government processes after officials of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs raised concerns over the council’s activities.
Despite the Presidency’s assurances, the controversy has continued to attract criticism from opposition parties, civil society organisations and senior lawyer Femi Falana (SAN), all of whom have called for an independent investigation into the allegations, including claims relating to budgetary allocations, Central Bank accounts and the alleged involvement of senior government officials
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