The House of Representatives Ad-Hoc Committee looking into the activities of the non-existent Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) has called on the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, to explain what his office did about the fake agency.
The committee also wants the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, to come and speak in person. This request follows what the Permanent Secretary (PS) of the ministry, Dunoma Ahmed, told the committee on Tuesday. The panel is led by Yusuf Gagdi from the APC in Plateau.
The committee is looking into how the PFIPC acted like a government agency even though it had no legal backing. They are investigating claims that the group pretended to be a presidential body, contacted government agencies, and tried to engage foreign investors using the name of the Presidency. The panel also needs to find out how this fake agency got funding in the 2026 budget.
Mr Ahmed informed the lawmakers that the ministry never acknowledged or worked with the PFIPC, insisting that both the council and its supposed Director-General, Adeniyi Adeyemi, were unknown to the federal government.
Mr Ahmed shared that Mr Adeyemi reached out to the ministry three times, on 26 June 2025, 5 August 2025, and 5 June 2026, asking for their support for a proposed World Investment Summit in Nigeria.
In his letters, Mr Adeyemi claimed to be the “Director-General of both the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC) and the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council.” The PS said the ministry turned down all three requests after checking the documents, finding inconsistencies, and doubting the legitimacy of both the council and its claimed leadership.
He explained that the ministry wrote to the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) on 16 October 2025 to confirm if Mr Adeyemi was really the Director-General of the PFIPC.
According to Mr Ahmed, ONSA responded on 26 November 2025 after checking with the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President. They confirmed that Mr Adeyemi was unknown to any federal office.
Mr Ahmed further told the lawmakers that the ministry never took part in any diplomatic activities involving the PFIPC. They did not help any foreign investors, international partners, or delegations on behalf of the council.
He added that no Memorandum of Understanding, treaty, or investment agreement was signed through the PFIPC. Nigerian missions abroad were never told to work with this organization because the ministry did not recognize it as a real government body.
Besides the letters already submitted to the committee, Mr Ahmed said the ministry had no official documents about the PFIPC and had never worked with the council or its alleged Director-General in any official way.
After hearing this, Committee Chairman Mr Gagdi expressed worry that the Office of the National Security Adviser had confirmed back in November 2025 that the PFIPC was not a recognized government agency. Yet, there are still questions about what actions were taken afterward.
He stated it was the committee’s job to find out if the nation’s security agencies acted properly after learning that the council did not exist legally.
As a result, the committee summoned Mr Ribadu to appear before them on Thursday at 12:00 noon to explain what steps were taken after his office confirmed that the PFIPC was not recognized by the federal government.
The committee also directed Mrs Odumegwu-Ojukwu to appear in person to give more details on the issues raised by the ministry’s statements.
Mr Gagdi explained that the committee wanted ONSA to clarify the actions it took after the Ministry of Foreign Affairs raised doubts about the authenticity of the organization. He added that once ONSA confirmed that the PFIPC was not a legitimate government body, they should have acted accordingly. The committee will check if the right steps were taken to stop the organization from continuing its activities.
Drop your comment
No comments yet — be the first to drop the gist 👇