The House of Representatives has cleared Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila, of involvement in the controversial organisation known as the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), saying its investigation found no evidence that he created, approved or participated in the activities of the purported agency.
Instead, the House panel investigating the scandal said documentary evidence showed that Gbajabiamila moved against the organisation after concerns were brought to his attention, alerting security and investigative authorities and ordering administrative checks into its claims.
The findings, presented by the Chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee, Yusuf Gagdi, at a press briefing, offered a preliminary account of a case that has raised questions about forged government documents, alleged financial inducement and the apparent exploitation of presidential identity.
According to the committee, the alarm was first raised after the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission flagged suspected fraudulent activity and the alleged misuse of official institutional materials linked to the purported organisation.
Gbajabiamila, the panel said, responded within a day.
He communicated with the Nigeria Police Force, the Office of the National Security Adviser, the Department of State Services and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, seeking investigation and appropriate action.
He also initiated administrative verification through relevant government institutions.
When additional concerns later surfaced, including those surrounding a proposed world investment summit, the Chief of Staff again wrote to the relevant authorities, requesting further investigation.
“The documentary evidence presently before the Committee does not establish that the Chief of Staff authorised, approved, established or participated in the activities of the purported organisation,” the panel said.
“On the contrary, the evidence demonstrates repeated steps to secure investigation, institutional verification and appropriate administrative action.”
The committee consequently said it “preliminarily commends” Gbajabiamila for the speed with which he acted whenever the matter was formally brought to his attention.
The Appointment Letter That Never Existed
But while the panel found no evidence implicating Gbajabiamila, its investigation uncovered what it described as a fabricated presidential appointment letter.
The document purported to appoint Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi as Director-General of the PFIPC and was presented as carrying the authority and signature of the Chief of Staff.
The House committee said it was fake.
Checks with the State House, according to the panel, established that no such appointment had been made or approved by the Presidency.
Gbajabiamila neither issued nor signed the letter.
The committee said the letterhead was not genuine State House stationery, while its reference number did not correspond with the official system used for presidential correspondence.
Its language, format and other administrative details also differed materially from authentic State House documents.
The panel therefore reached a preliminary finding that the appointment letter had been fabricated and falsely attributed to the Presidency.
Fake Executive Order, Fake Law
The alleged forgery went further.
The committee said documents presented as a Presidential Executive Order and an Act of the National Assembly establishing the PFIPC were also unauthentic.
One document purported to be Executive Order No. 5, dated February 24, 2026.
The panel said the order was never issued or approved through lawful presidential procedures.
Another document was presented as an Act of the National Assembly creating the organisation.
But the committee said the legislation was never passed by both chambers, never received presidential assent and was never gazetted as an Act of the Federation.
Even more troubling, investigators found that portions of an instrument relating to another institution appeared to have been electronically altered, mutilated or substituted to make it look as though Parliament had established the purported council.
In short, the committee said, there was no lawful legislative or executive foundation for the organisation.
PFIPC Has No Legal Existence
The panel said its investigation had uncovered no valid Act of the National Assembly, gazetted enactment, Executive Order, administrative instrument or other lawful authority establishing an institution known as the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council.
Nor, it said, had any competent Federal Government authority produced an authentic record showing that the President, Federal Executive Council, National Assembly, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation or any other legally empowered institution had created or authorised the organisation.
The purported body also appeared under inconsistent names, including PFIPC and the Presidential Economic Advisory Council, further deepening questions about its identity and legitimacy.
The ₦400 Million Question
The financial dimension of the investigation may prove even more explosive.
The committee said it received a complaint from a company alleging that Adeyemi induced it to pay approximately ₦400 million in four instalments.
The money was allegedly paid after the company was promised a contract involving the renovation, furnishing or improvement of a residence purportedly allocated to Adeyemi in his claimed position as Director-General of the organisation.
Investigators are now following the money.
The committee said it is tracing where the payments went, identifying the account holders and beneficial owners involved and establishing the ownership and status of the property at the centre of the allegation.
But the panel was careful to draw a line between allegation and proof.
It stressed that the claims remain under investigation and that criminal liability can only be determined by a court of competent jurisdiction.
58 Bank Accounts, 12 Entities
The committee also disclosed a potentially wider financial network.
Preliminary financial information, it said, linked approximately 58 bank accounts to identifying information associated with Adeyemi.
More than 30 of those accounts appeared to have been operated in the names of roughly nine agencies, companies, foundations or related entities.
The panel further alleged that Adeyemi may have been connected, directly or indirectly, to more than 12 entities.
But it cautioned that the discovery of an account, company or transaction did not automatically mean that it was unlawful.
Investigators are continuing to reconcile corporate registration records, bank mandates, beneficial ownership information and transaction histories to determine who controlled the entities and accounts and how they were used.
Government Systems Also Under the Microscope
Beyond the alleged activities of individuals, the investigation has exposed what the committee described as troubling weaknesses within government institutions.
Among the areas flagged are failures in verifying whether purported government agencies legally exist, authenticating official correspondence, allocating government accommodation, processing special number plates and protecting official identities.
The findings suggest that the alleged scheme may have exploited gaps in several government systems rather than relying solely on forged documents.
The House committee said its final report will determine the responsibilities of individuals and institutions and recommend appropriate legislative, administrative, disciplinary, civil, financial and prosecutorial measures.
For now, however, the panel's findings remain preliminary.
The committee stressed that its conclusions do not constitute its final report and do not represent the final position of the House of Representatives.
What has emerged so far is a striking picture: a purported government agency with no legal foundation, documents allegedly forged in the name of the Presidency and Parliament, a claimed presidential appointment that investigators say never happened, hundreds of millions of naira allegedly changing hands—and dozens of bank accounts now under scrutiny.
The investigation is not over.
PFIPC Scandal: House Panel Clears Gbajabiamila, Uncovers Fake Presidency, ₦400m Trail
