In a statement posted on Facebook Tuesday, the anti-corruption agency clarified that Gbajabiamila merely responded to an invitation from investigators and was never taken into custody.
The ICPC said Gbajabiamila arrived at its Abuja headquarters on Monday afternoon, answered investigators’ questions and departed after making his statement.
“The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) confirms that the Chief of Staff to the President, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila, was at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja on Monday, 20th July, 2026, to give a statement in connection with the ongoing investigation into the circumstances surrounding the purported Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC),” the statement said.
“The Commission confirms that the Chief of Staff’s visit was on the invitation of its investigators and consistent with its ongoing efforts to gather all relevant facts in the matter. He was not arrested; he simply willingly honoured an invitation,” the statement added.
The agency added that its investigation into the alleged fake government body remains ongoing and assured the public that updates would be provided when necessary.
Gbajabiamila’s appearance before investigators came after President Tinubu ordered a comprehensive probe into the PFIPC, which the Presidency has since disowned, describing it as a fraudulent entity.
The controversy has also attracted the attention of the House of Representatives, where lawmakers have begun a parallel investigation into how the alleged council obtained office accommodation, budgetary provisions and official government documentation.
During a public hearing held at the National Assembly on Monday, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) disclosed that it opened two foreign currency domiciliary accounts for the purported agency.
Appearing before the House Ad-hoc Committee investigating the matter, chaired by Yusuf Gagdi and inaugurated by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, the Director of the CBN Banking Services Department, Hamisu Ibrahim, said the accounts were created after receiving an official mandate from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.
“On July 30, 2025, we received a mandate dated July 29, 2025 from the Office of the Accountant-General. We received the mandate to authorise two accounts, one a US dollar domiciliary account, the other a pound domiciliary account, for the Presidential Economic Advisory Council/Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council,” Ibrahim told the committee.
He further explained the bank’s account-opening procedure.
“The process of opening an account requires a mandate from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.
“Once we receive that mandate, we perform all the necessary verifications to confirm that this mandate is actually coming from that office.
“The department that handles the mandate is different from the department that actually does the account opening,” he said.
Ibrahim, however, informed lawmakers that although the accounts were successfully opened, they were never activated because no individual came forward to complete the activation process.
Meanwhile, Adeniyi Adeyemi has been arrested and is currently facing prosecution over his alleged role in the PFIPC scandal.