Official documents have cast fresh doubt on the Presidency’s insistence that the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) never existed, revealing that the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) received, acknowledged and acted on correspondence submitted in the agency’s name months before it was publicly disowned.
The documents indicate that the SGF’s office processed and forwarded a request by the council’s self-styled Director-General, Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, seeking office accommodation from Federal Government properties recovered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The forwarding letter, dated November 21, 2024, was signed by the Permanent Secretary, General Services Office, Mr Nnamdi Maurice Mbaeri, on behalf of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume.
Attached to the correspondence was a letter dated November 7, 2024, in which Adeyemi formally requested office accommodation for the PFIPC. Official registry stamps showed that the SGF’s office received the application on November 12 and subsequently forwarded it to the EFCC nine days later.
In the communication titled, “Request for Office Accommodation,” the SGF informed the anti-graft agency that three government institutions had applied for office space from recovered Federal Government properties, specifically identifying the PFIPC’s request by its official reference number.
Adeyemi, in his application, presented the PFIPC as a Federal Government agency established to attract foreign direct investment, coordinate investment activities across Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), and serve as a one-stop investment centre for prospective investors.
He claimed that the council worked closely with government institutions, collated investment data and promoted Nigeria as a preferred destination for international investors.
The emergence of the documents comes amid Adeyemi’s ongoing prosecution over allegations that he operated a fictitious government agency, forged a presidential appointment letter allegedly signed by the Chief of Staff to the President, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila, and falsely represented himself as Director-General of the PFIPC.
Court filings allege that Adeyemi operated no fewer than 34 bank accounts, including accounts opened in the names of purported government agencies, while conducting official activities under the PFIPC platform.
Prosecutors further claim that he held meetings with diplomats and foreign representatives at Abuja’s Wells Carlton Hotel while presenting himself as the head of the council.
Despite the official correspondence processed by the SGF’s office, the Presidency has maintained that the PFIPC was never established and had no legal existence.
Presidential spokesman, Mr Bayo Onanuga, in a statement issued on Wednesday, described the council as a fictitious organisation and outlined allegations of fraud, forgery and impersonation against Adeyemi.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has listed Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila and 10 other individuals as witnesses in the criminal trial before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The eight-count charge filed against Adeyemi and two accomplices currently at large includes allegations of conspiracy, forgery, impersonation and operating a non-existent government agency between 2024 and 2025.
According to prosecutors, forged presidential documents bearing official insignia, seals and reference numbers were deployed to create legitimacy for the council and facilitate its operations.
An interim report by the Inspector-General of Police Monitoring Unit disclosed that investigations commenced following a petition from the Office of the Chief of Staff, which alleged that forged appointment letters were being circulated in the Presidency’s name.
Investigators further alleged that Adeyemi wrote to several government institutions, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, requesting diplomatic support for visa processing on behalf of purported staff members of the council.
Police authorities stated that he was arrested on October 27, 2025, during an operation in Suleja, Niger State, where officers reportedly recovered forged appointment letters, official letterheads and other incriminating materials.
A visit to the Federal Secretariat in Abuja reportedly found no office allocated to the PFIPC. Security operatives and civil servants interviewed said they had never heard of the agency, while no signboard bearing its name was found within the complex.
Although the organisation previously operated a website hosted on a Federal Government domain, the platform is no longer accessible.
The Presidency has pledged to uncover and prosecute any internal collaborators who may have aided Adeyemi’s activities, while investigations by the Department of State Services (DSS), the Police and the EFCC continue.
Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, has called for an independent probe into the controversy, urging the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate both the allegations surrounding the council and claims that N24 billion was earmarked for its purported operations.