The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has cleared the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, of any wrongdoing in the controversy surrounding a purported Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), concluding that the appointment letter presented by Adeniyi Adeyemi Mathew was forged.
ICPC Chairman, Dr Musa Adamu Aliyu (SAN), disclosed the findings on Wednesday while presenting the Commission’s interim report in Abuja, exactly 30 days after President Bola Tinubu directed the anti-graft agency to investigate the activities of the alleged fake council.
Aliyu said he had submitted the interim report to the President and briefed him on the outcome of the investigation.
“I have just submitted the interim report and briefed Mr President accordingly. The President took the right decision in the spirit of transparency and accountability and directed me to address the media for the benefit of Nigerians,” he said.
According to the ICPC chairman, investigators established that Adeniyi Adeyemi Mathew was never appointed by the Federal Government or any authorised government institution. He added that the so-called Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council, also referred to as the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, was never created by any law, executive order or other valid instrument of government.
Aliyu said the Commission found that the appointment letter presented by Adeyemi, along with other documents used in the operation of the purported agency, was entirely forged.
“The appointment letter presented by Mr Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew was completely forged, alongside similar documents used to perpetrate the illegal activities of the fake agency,” he said.
The investigation further revealed that the fake council illegally appropriated the identity, offices and operational structures of the former Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC), while Adeyemi allegedly engaged in false representation, impersonation and other unlawful activities in presenting himself as the organisation’s Director-General.
The ICPC also identified weaknesses in verification processes, inter-agency oversight and government procedures, which it said were exploited by the suspect with “some level of negligence and connivance.”
However, the Commission said no weaknesses were found in the internal systems of the State House or the Central Bank of Nigeria, describing their processes as “above board.”
Aliyu also stated that the investigation found no evidence that public funds were approved or disbursed to either the fake PFIPC or the former PEAC.
The findings effectively exonerate Gbajabiamila, whose office had come under public scrutiny following claims surrounding the alleged appointment, while the Commission said investigations into other aspects of the case would continue.
