The House of Representatives has cleared the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, of any involvement in the activities of the purported Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, PFIPC, following preliminary findings by an ad hoc committee investigating the controversy.

The lawmakers said evidence obtained during the investigation showed that Gbajabiamila neither authorised nor approved the establishment or activities of the organisation, while the purported appointment letter allegedly linking his office to the council was found not to have originated from the State House.

The development came as the committee also uncovered about 58 bank accounts allegedly linked to the detained Director-General of the purported council, Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, as well as an alleged N400 million transaction now under investigation.

Presenting the committee’s preliminary findings to journalists in Abuja on Wednesday, Chairman of the panel, Yusuf Gagdi, said evidence before the lawmakers had effectively cleared the Chief of Staff of allegations that he played any role in authorising or establishing the PFIPC.

According to him, “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.”

Gagdi said investigations involving the State House had established that the purported presidential appointment letter presented in connection with Adeyemi was neither issued nor signed by Gbajabiamila.

The committee also reportedly found inconsistencies between the letterhead and reference number used on the document and official State House correspondence.

Rather than being implicated in the activities of the controversial organisation, the committee said Gbajabiamila took prompt action after concerns about the PFIPC were brought to his attention.

According to Gagdi, “the evidence showed that Gbajabiamila promptly communicated with relevant security and investigative agencies, including the Nigeria Police Force, Office of the National Security Adviser, Department of State Services and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, after receiving alerts concerning the activities of the organisation.”

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The committee consequently exonerated the Chief of Staff from allegations that he authorised, established or participated in the activities of the purported council and commended what it described as his timely intervention.

Beyond clearing Gbajabiamila, the investigation has opened a wider trail into the operations and financial dealings allegedly connected with Adeyemi and several organisations associated with him.

Gagdi said preliminary information obtained from financial and investigative institutions revealed that Adeyemi’s Bank Verification Number and other identifying information were allegedly connected to a network of personal, corporate, organisational and foundation accounts.

About 58 bank accounts were identified in the course of the investigation, with more than 30 reportedly operated in the names of about nine agencies, companies, foundations and related entities allegedly connected to Adeyemi.

The organisations identified by the committee include the Confederation of United Nations Youths; FCT Investment Promotion Agency and Public-Private Partnership; FCT Investment Promotion Council and Public-Private Partnership; Foreign Investment Promotion Agency; United Nations Youth Global Agency; United Nations Youth Global Foundation; World United Nations Youth Global Foundation; World Entrepreneurship University Limited; World Enterprise University Limited; FCT Investment Promotion Act; FCT Promotion Agency; and Olubadan of Ibadan Foundation.

However, the committee stressed that the discovery of the accounts and entities did not amount to a conclusion that all of them were involved in illegal activities.

Gagdi said the panel was still “reconciling registration records, account mandates, beneficial ownership information, signatories and transaction histories to establish the true nature and control of the organisations and accounts.”

The lawmakers said they had nevertheless identified what they described as “similarities in the nomenclature, objectives, management structures, signatories and banking relationships of several of the entities.”

According to the committee chairman, the similarities had raised concerns about a possible pattern in which organisations could have been created or deployed to manufacture credibility, solicit funds, obtain official recognition or induce members of the public to part with money.

One of the major issues now being investigated is an alleged N400 million transaction involving a company that reportedly claimed Adeyemi induced it to make payments in four instalments.

The company allegedly acted after representations that Adeyemi could secure a contract relating to the renovation, furnishing or improvement of a purported official residence allocated to him in his claimed capacity as PFIPC Director-General.

The committee said it was tracing the movement and destination of the funds while working to identify account holders, beneficial owners and any public officers or private individuals who may have participated in, facilitated or benefited from the transaction.

Gagdi said that, if established through competent investigative and judicial processes, the allegations could disclose offences including fraudulent misrepresentation, obtaining money by false pretence, impersonation, conspiracy, forgery and offences relating to the concealment or movement of proceeds of crime.

The probe has also cast serious doubt on the legal existence of the PFIPC itself.

According to the committee, investigators found no Act of the National Assembly, gazetted enactment, Presidential Executive Order or any other lawful instrument establishing the purported council.

Gagdi said documentary materials used to project the organisation as a legitimate government institution contained substantial evidence of alleged fabrication, forgery, mutilation, impersonation and unauthorised representation of Nigerian public institutions and officials.

The panel specifically said it uncovered “evidence of alleged fabrication of official documents, including a purported presidential appointment letter for Adeyemi, a purported Executive Order and a document presented as an Act of the National Assembly establishing the organisation.”

While the investigation has raised questions about how the PFIPC allegedly gained access to official-looking documents and government facilities, the committee also cleared National Assembly committees responsible for budget scrutiny of culpability.

The focus, Gagdi said, had shifted to “how an entity that had not been lawfully established was nevertheless able to secure apparent recognition and budgetary treatment within the Federal Government’s administrative machinery.”

The committee said the matter exposed serious gaps in the verification of government institutions, creation of administrative and budget codes, authentication of official correspondence, allocation of government accommodation and processing of official-looking vehicle number plates.

Investigators also discovered that the purported council allegedly operated from office accommodation within the Federal Secretariat Complex and maintained a website portraying it as an institution of the Federal Government.

The organisation was further accused of allegedly using the names, offices and photographs of President Bola Tinubu and other senior government officials without authorisation.

About 39 people were also reportedly presented as employees of the organisation, with the committee examining their recruitment, appointment letters, identity cards and remuneration, as well as allegations that some prospective employees were asked to make payments as a condition for employment.

The House panel has now recommended that Ministries, Departments and Agencies immediately stop recognising or dealing with the PFIPC and any related organisation whose legal status has not been independently verified.

It also urged government agencies to ensure that “no appropriation, administrative code, warrant, cash backing, financial release or governmental facility should be processed in favour of the purported organisation.”

Relevant financial institutions and investigative agencies were equally asked to preserve account records, transaction histories, mandates and beneficial ownership information connected with individuals and organisations under investigation.

The committee further called for “the prompt conclusion of criminal and financial investigations” and said that where sufficient admissible evidence was established, “appropriate agencies should institute criminal proceedings before courts of competent jurisdiction.”

It also recommended “the tracing, preservation, freezing and recovery of proceeds or assets derived from any established unlawful conduct, subject to applicable legal requirements and judicial authorisation where necessary.”

The Nigeria Police Force, DSS, EFCC, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission and the Office of the National Security Adviser were commended for assisting the investigation into the alleged fabricated documents, financial accounts, transactions and associated entities.

The panel also proposed stronger procedures for authenticating new government institutions, administrative and budget codes, as well as correspondence purportedly issued by the Presidency and other high offices.

It recommended the creation or strengthening of a secure centralised digital verification platform through which the legal status and establishing instruments of Federal Government institutions could be independently confirmed.

The alleged N400 million transaction, the committee said, should undergo a separate and comprehensive investigation, including lawful efforts to trace, preserve, freeze and recover any proceeds of unlawful activity established by investigators.

Gagdi said the panel would continue its investigation into the ownership and control of the identified accounts, the alleged transaction, the purported official residence, special number plates, government accommodation and the roles of both public officers and private individuals connected with the matter.

He added that outstanding evidence would still be obtained from institutions and public officials who had not fully complied with the committee’s requests, while all affected persons would be given fair hearing before final conclusions were reached.

The chairman stressed that the findings remained preliminary and did not amount to a final determination of criminal guilt, noting that such responsibility rests with courts of competent jurisdiction.

He said the committee would submit its final report to the House after lawmakers return from their two-month annual recess.

Gagdi maintained that the investigation was not merely about exposing an alleged fake government agency or identifying those behind it, but about protecting the integrity of Nigerian institutions from individuals or organisations allegedly seeking to manufacture official authority.

“The Presidency cannot be impersonated with impunity,” Gagdi said, stressing that the identity, authority and instruments of the Federal Republic of Nigeria could not be appropriated by private individuals or organisations for personal advantage.

He assured that the final report would contain definitive findings, identify institutional and individual responsibilities and recommend appropriate legislative, administrative, disciplinary, civil, financial and prosecutorial actions, subject to the decision of the House and due process of law.

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