Two more fake government agencies have been uncovered by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) in the course of investigating the activities of the self-acclaimed Director-General of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), Adeniyi Matthew Adeyemi.
Disclosing this on thursday while presenting the commission’s interim investigation report to President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, ICPC Chairman, Dr Musa Adamu Aliyu, named the two fake agencies to include: the FCT Investment Promotion Agency (PIFA) and the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency (PIPA).
Aliyu revealed the two fake agencies were created using forged legislative documents and were used to open bank accounts for illegal activities.
The ICPC Boss further noted that the investigation established that Adeyemi was never appointed by the Federal Government and that the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council was never created by any law or executive order.
“Our investigation confirmed that the appointment letter presented by Adeyemi was forged, while the PFIPC was never legally established by the Federal Government,” he said.
According to him, the fake agency took over the offices and facilities of the former Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC) and used them to carry out illegal activities, including false representation and impersonation.
“Our investigation showed that Adeyemi changed the name of the fake agency from the Foreign Investment Promotion Council to the Foreign Intervention Promotion Council and also tried to expand its activities to include revenue generation,” Aliyu said.
Aliyu however made it clear that the investigation also found no evidence that government funds were approved or released to the fake agency, adding that there were no security lapses within the State House or the Central Bank of Nigeria that enabled its operations.
The ICPC Chair made public that collaborators from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, the Office of the Accountant-General, the Budget Office and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) aided the activities of the agency under investigation.
To this end, he pointed out that the commission has recommended the prosecution of Adeyemi, administrative sanctions against public officers who assisted the illegal operation, and reforms to strengthen internal controls in government institutions.
