The detained Director-General of the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), Prince Adeniyi Matthew Adeyemi, has denied claims that he single-handedly established and operated the council, insisting that several key government institutions officially recognised and supported its activities before the Presidency later disowned it.
Through his legal team, led by Festus Akhigbe, Adeyemi described attempts to portray him as the sole mastermind behind the council as misleading, arguing that the PFIPC’s operations involved multiple federal agencies.
His response comes as the House of Representatives and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) continue investigations into the legality of the council, which the Presidency has declared was never established by any law, executive order or presidential directive.
In a statement issued on Sunday, Adeyemi appealed to the House of Representatives ad hoc committee investigating the matter to allow him personally appear before lawmakers, insisting that any report compiled without his testimony would be incomplete.
According to him, the PFIPC functioned with the knowledge and participation of several government institutions rather than operating independently.
His lawyers claimed that the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation acknowledged official documents relating to the council and facilitated the allocation of office space within the Federal Secretariat.
They further alleged that the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation and the Central Bank of Nigeria acted on official correspondence by assigning budget codes, granting self-accounting status, deploying civil servants to the council and opening operational bank accounts.
The legal team also stated that the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation approved the council’s organisational structure and granted recruitment waivers that enabled the employment of 314 personnel.
According to the statement, the Budget Office of the Federation and the National Assembly also processed documents that resulted in the inclusion of ₦1.302 billion for the PFIPC in the 2026 Appropriation Act, which was later signed into law by President Bola Tinubu.
The lawyers further alleged that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) provided office accommodation for the council, requested a ₦300 million processing consideration and later presented a plaque of recognition to its leadership.
Questioning allegations that Adeyemi alone created the council, the legal team asked:
“If these documents were crude forgeries, how did the central administrative engine of the Federal Government act upon them?”
They added:
“It is an administrative impossibility for an unassisted individual to mislead multiple agencies of the Federal Government.”
The lawyers argued that their client was being unfairly blamed for broader institutional shortcomings within the federal system.
“Our client is being made a scapegoat to cover up deep-seated institutional lapses, procedural breakdowns and internal approvals within the government structure,” the statement said.
They urged the House committee, chaired by Rep. Yusuf Gagdi, to permit Adeyemi to testify before concluding its investigation.
“Any investigative outcome or final legislative report produced without affording our client a direct hearing would be fundamentally flawed, incomplete and a breach of the constitutional right to fair hearing (audi alteram partem),” the lawyers stated.
“To reach a definitive conclusion, the committee must examine not only institutional witnesses but also the primary subject at the centre of this controversy.”
The controversy surrounding the PFIPC escalated after the Presidency distanced itself from the council, stating that it had no legal backing despite operating publicly as a federal agency.
Before being disowned, the council reportedly operated from the Federal Secretariat in Abuja, engaged government institutions and foreign investors, and secured about ₦1.3 billion in the 2026 national budget.
The Presidency subsequently directed the ICPC to investigate the council’s establishment, funding and operations, while the House of Representatives launched a separate probe to determine how it obtained official recognition and budgetary allocation despite allegedly lacking legal status.
During the legislative investigation, the Director-General of the Budget Office, Tanimu Yakubu, told lawmakers that the Budget Office merely processed submissions based on existing administrative records and did not establish the PFIPC.
The ongoing investigations are expected to determine how the council operated within the federal system and whether any public officials who facilitated its activities will face accountability.
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