A fresh controversy has emerged over the alleged existence of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), as official documents reportedly show that the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) processed and acted on correspondence linked to the agency before it was later denied by the Presidency.
According to documents cited from PUNCH, the SGF office received and forwarded a request in November 2024 seeking office accommodation for the PFIPC through recovered Federal Government properties under the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The request was submitted by Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, who claims to be the Director-General of the council.
The correspondence, signed on behalf of the SGF, acknowledged multiple requests for office space from different government-linked bodies, including the PFIPC application, and subsequently directed it to the EFCC for consideration.
The development has raised new questions, especially as the Presidency has repeatedly insisted that the PFIPC does not exist. Presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga had previously described the council as fictitious while addressing allegations surrounding its operations.
Prince Adeyemi is currently facing prosecution over accusations that he operated a fake government agency, forged presidential appointment letters, and falsely presented himself as head of the PFIPC. Prosecutors allege he ran several bank accounts in the names of supposed government bodies and used the identity to conduct official-looking engagements.
Court filings also state that he is facing an eight-count charge including conspiracy, impersonation, and operating a fictitious agency between 2024 and 2025. Authorities further allege that forged documents bearing official seals were used to give legitimacy to the organisation.
Investigators from the police monitoring unit reportedly began probing the matter after a petition from the Chief of Staff’s office, leading to his arrest in October 2025 in Niger State, where alleged forged documents and official materials were recovered.
A visit to the Federal Secretariat in Abuja reportedly found no evidence of the PFIPC, while officials said they had never heard of the agency. Its online presence has also since been taken down.
Meanwhile, government agencies including the DSS, police, and EFCC are continuing investigations, with calls from human rights lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) for an independent probe into both the alleged fraud and claims of budgeted funds tied to the council.
