A member of the House of Representatives committee investigating the alleged fake Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), Yusuf Adamu Gagdi, says lawmakers have found inconsistencies in the signature used to appoint Adeniyi Adeyemi as the council’s Director-General.
Speaking during the committee’s session, which was attended by the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Esther Walson-Jack, Gagdi said the committee compared several official letters issued by the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President.
According to him, the signatures on nine separate letters addressed to key government institutions were consistent, but the signature on the letter appointing Adeyemi was different.
Gagdi said the committee carefully reviewed letters sent to the National Security Adviser, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Office of the Head of the Civil Service, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Department of State Services (DSS), the Nigeria Police and other agencies.
“All the signatures matched, except the one used to appoint the person claiming to be the Director-General,” he said, adding that he was deliberately careful with his choice of words while referring to Adeyemi.
The investigation is examining the legitimacy of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council and allegations that forged documents were used to secure official recognition for the agency.
Lawmakers are also probing whether government institutions acted on fake correspondence believed to have originated from the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President.
Earlier, the Accountant-General of the Federation, Shamseldeen Ogunjimi, told the committee that Adeyemi allegedly intercepted an official letter that could have exposed the alleged forgery.
Ogunjimi explained that his office first received a request in November 2024, purportedly from the State House, asking for an administrative code for the council to enable budgeting and financial reporting.
Believing the request was genuine, the Office of the Accountant-General processed it and issued the code, sending its response to the State House while copying the Budget Office of the Federation.
However, Ogunjimi said investigations later revealed that the response never reached the Presidency because it was allegedly intercepted by Adeyemi.
The PFIPC controversy has attracted national attention after Adeyemi claimed that President Bola Tinubu’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, signed his appointment letter as Director-General. Gbajabiamila has denied issuing any such appointment.
Adeyemi was arrested on July 14 by operatives of the Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT) in Osun State as investigations into the council’s establishment and operations continue.
