By Eshioromeh Sebastian
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has recommended the immediate prosecution of Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, the alleged mastermind behind the fictitious Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), after an investigation established that his appointment letter was completely forged and did not emanate from the Presidency.
ICPC Chairman Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu, SAN, disclosed this on Thursday while briefing State House correspondents after presenting the commission’s interim report to President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, exactly 30 days after the President ordered the probe.
“Following the interim report, we discovered that Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew was never appointed by the federal government or any authority of government,” Aliyu said.
He stated that the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council, which also operated under the name Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, “was never established by any law or executive order or other valid instrument of government.”
The ICPC chairman revealed that investigators uncovered two additional fictitious government agencies allegedly created by Adeyemi: the FCT Investment Promotion Agency (FIPA) and the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency and Public-Private Partnership (FIPA-PPP).
According to Aliyu, Adeyemi used forged legislative instruments styled as enabling Acts to create these agencies and facilitate the opening of bank accounts for illegal activities.
The investigation established that the suspect unlawfully appropriated the identity and office of the defunct Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC), allegedly breaking into the office and using it as the operational base of the fictitious organisation.
“The office used by the fake agency through Adeyemi Mathew, the office of PEAC, was broken; the lock was broken, and he had access to the office. That was how he was able to get inside that office,” Aliyu explained.
While the ICPC absolved the Presidency and the Central Bank of Nigeria of any involvement, it identified institutional weaknesses in verification procedures, inter-agency oversight, and government processes across several MDAs that were exploited by the suspect.
The agencies where weaknesses were identified include the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, 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).
“Our investigation found that some public officers failed to do due diligence and failed to adhere with the standard procedures that are supposed to be complied in their ministries and departments, and that is what gave him the opportunity to conduct this illegal act,” Aliyu said.
The ICPC chairman confirmed that investigators found no evidence that Federal Government funds were approved or disbursed to the fake PFIPC or PEAC.
Based on its findings, the commission recommended Adeyemi’s prosecution, administrative sanctions against negligent public officers, and institutional reforms to strengthen internal controls across MDAs.
Aliyu stressed that the report submitted to the President was an interim one, adding that investigations were still ongoing to identify collaborators and build a watertight criminal case.
“We have continued with the investigation of the activities of Mr Adeniyi Adeyemi and his collaborators so that we can unravel more facts and file criminal charges that can stand the test of time before a court of competent jurisdiction,” he stated.
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