The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission has uncovered multiple fake agencies operating within the federal government structure, prompting President Bola Tinubu to order a comprehensive forensic investigation into the scandal.
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, disclosed this on Wednesday while briefing State House correspondents after the Federal Executive Council meeting presided over by Tinubu at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja.
Oyedele said the investigation follows an interim report by the ICPC which revealed that the previously discovered Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council was not the only fictitious agency operating within government circles.
“The findings discovered that we indeed have additional fake agencies,” Oyedele said. “What is important is to establish what went wrong, how it can be prevented, and going forward, how we can make our systems stronger.”
The ICPC’s investigation established that Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, who claimed to be the Director-General of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council, was never appointed by the Federal Government. The commission also found that the council was never established by any law, executive order, or valid government instrument.
Oyedele confirmed that the fraudulent entity managed to obtain administrative codes and a Treasury Single Account code, though no government funds were actually disbursed to the accounts.
“It’s gone too far to even get to that level,” Oyedele admitted. “Now the idea is we want to find out what went wrong and strengthen the system.”
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, provided further context on the ICPC’s findings, confirming that the commission’s report identified more than the initially known fake council.
“The President was informed that it is not just about the so-called Presidential Foreign Promotion Council and the fake DG that was there, but that there were at least two additional fake agencies that were in that process,” Idris said.
Idris explained that the President had directed the Attorney-General and the Finance Minister to jointly examine both the administrative and accounting systems to identify the lapses that enabled the scandal.
“So that we have a forensic, total evaluation of this system, with a view to plugging this once and for all, so we don’t have this national embarrassment again,” Idris said.
The President specifically directed that the forensic review extend to the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System.
“Mr President directed that the review should extend to IPPIS, because if you have fake agencies, you most likely have fake employees,” Oyedele said. “In a country where you would have seen Mr President doing everything to ensure we enhance payroll, salaries and wages, we can’t afford to have fake people hanging around. It undermines our ability to pay our people well, who are doing the hard work.”
Oyedele disclosed that N9.495 trillion in subsidy savings and incremental revenue had gone into incremental payment of salaries and allowances to civil servants, a figure he said exceeded the actual savings that accrued to the Federal Government from the subsidy removal.
“So we don’t want to be further constrained by fake agencies and fake personnel,” Oyedele said. “This is something we take very seriously, and the Nigerian people will get updates as we progress.”
The ICPC has recommended the prosecution of Adeniyi Adeyemi for forgery and impersonation, administrative sanctions against public officers whose negligence facilitated the fraud, and institutional reforms to strengthen internal controls across Ministries, Departments and Agencies.
Idris cautioned that the scandal likely predates the current administration.
“I want you to know that this didn’t just happen now,” Idris said. “It is possible that this dates back longer than when the President was in office.”
“The President is not just looking at this; he is looking at the possibility that this may also have occurred elsewhere, and trying to find a solution that will block this from recurring going forward,” Idris added.
The Federal Executive Council also approved the signing of Double Taxation Avoidance Treaties between Nigeria and Ghana, Nigeria and Tanzania, and Nigeria and Switzerland, according to Oyedele.
“The overall objective of these treaties is to ensure that Nigeria can expand the opportunities available to our businesses to invest in other countries, and also for us to attract investment from those countries,” Oyedele said.
Oyedele also disclosed that the council approved a $1.25 billion financing facility from the International Development Association and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development in support of Nigeria’s Actions for Investment and Job Acceleration development policy financing.
“This is a concessional facility with repayments of about 30 years, which we are going to dedicate to helping accelerate job creation,” Oyedele said. “If we have any priority as a country, this clearly has to be one of them.”
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