(President Bola Tinubu. Photo Credit: Leadership News)
President Bola Tinubu has instructed the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission to carry out a full inquiry into the workings of the so-called Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, which he described as a fabricated outfit lacking any legal foundation.
A statement from the presidential spokesman said the President had ordered the anti-corruption agency to wrap up its inquiry and hand in a full report within 30 days.
The order came after it emerged that the PFIPC was never set up by the Federal Government and has no grounding in any law, presidential instrument, executive approval, or other lawful government action.
The statement identified one Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew as having falsely claimed to be the Director-General of the PFIPC and to have been appointed by the presidency.
The ICPC has been tasked with probing the suspected forging of appointment letters and other official government paperwork, the use of a bogus presidential appointment claim to secure official recognition and diplomatic backing, including help with visas, along with the opening of several bank accounts in the names of supposed government agencies using documents believed to be forged.
Tinubu also directed the commission to look into the conduct of the main suspect and any accomplices, along with the conditions that allowed the fake agency and the false appointment claim to appear legitimate.
The inquiry will cover where the alleged forged documents came from and how they were used, the channels through which official recognition or diplomatic backing may have been pursued or secured, the setting up and running of the bank accounts in question, the origin and movement of the funds involved, and the part played by any government officials, private citizens, financial institutions, or go-betweens who may have helped or taken part in the alleged scheme.
The President further asked the commission to pinpoint weaknesses in government and institutional processes that may have been taken advantage of, and to propose urgent steps to stop such a thing happening again.
He also directed all federal ministries, departments, and agencies to give the ICPC their full cooperation by supplying all relevant records, information, and support needed to finish the investigation promptly.
Per the statement, Tinubu emphasised that the standing of the Presidency and federal institutions must be shielded from impersonation, forgery, misuse of official identity, and exploitation of gaps in the public service.
He instructed that whoever is found responsible should face the full weight of the law.
Fake Agency: No Petition Before Us Senate
The Senate said on Tuesday, through its spokesman, Senator Yemi Adaramodu of Ekiti South, that no petition had been brought before the upper chamber asking it to weigh in on the row over the alleged fake agency said to be headed by a bogus Director-General, Adeniyi Adeyemi Mathew.
The controversy over the reportedly non-existent Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council has dominated public discussion in recent weeks, drawing in the supposed fake DG and the Chief of Staff to President Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila.
The Chief of Staff has distanced himself from the agency and its claimed DG, raising the alarm over it, while the DG hit back, asserting that the PFIPC is in fact known to the Presidency through Gbajabiamila, whom he accused of collecting N400 million from him in exchange for the appointment and demanding 48 per cent of the N1.3 billion allocated to the agency in the 2026 budget.
Speaking to journalists after plenary on Tuesday about where the Senate stands on the matter, Adaramodu said no petition had come before the chamber from either side of the dispute, or from concerned Nigerians, that would call for the Senate to step in or comment.
He acknowledged that, as widely reported, the disputed agency does have a budget line in the 2026 Appropriation Act, but said resolving that lies with the executive arm, where the dispute originated.
He noted that, since the matter is already in court, Senate rules bar it from getting involved.
“The allegations and counter-allegations over the alleged fake agency and fake Director-General are all within the executive, which should sort them out, specifically between the Office of the Chief of Staff and the alleged fake DG.
“The budget line being referred to was not created or inserted by the National Assembly, and it is not the duty of the Senate or the House of Representatives to carry out security checks on those supposedly appointed to head the various MDAs.
“If the alleged fake DG were one of the presidential appointees screened and confirmed by the Senate, the controversy might have been perceived to be somewhat linked to us.
“However, if a petition is sent to the Senate by any of the feuding parties or any concerned Nigerian on the existence or non-existence of the agency or its DG, it will be looked into legislatively,” he said.
POINTS AT ISSUE
The row over the PFIPC traces back to October 2025, when the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission flagged to the Presidency that another body was carrying out similar functions.
That organisation, calling itself the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, claimed federal-agency status, triggering a probe by the Office of the Chief of Staff.
The Presidency subsequently declared the PFIPC fake, stating it was never established through law, executive order, or presidential approval.
It alleged that Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew had falsely posed as the council’s Director-General using forged appointment letters, seals, signatures, and other government documents.
After petitions from Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila, the DSS and police opened investigations.
Authorities said forged documents were recovered and 34 bank accounts allegedly tied to Adeyemi were uncovered, some opened under the names of fictitious government agencies. He and two others now face an eight-count charge.
Adeyemi claimed that Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila took N400 million through proxies to secure him the PFIPC director-general appointment, an allegation Gbajabiamila has firmly rejected.
President Tinubu has ordered the ICPC to conclude a fresh probe within 30 days, covering the alleged forgery, the movement of funds, the bank accounts, any collaborators, possible involvement of public officials, and the loopholes that may have enabled the alleged scheme.