The ICPC Interim Report On The PFIPC And Other Matters -By Hajia Hadiza Mohammed

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission’s (ICPC) probe into the establishment of the alleged fake agency: the Presidential Foreign Investment and Promotion Council (PFIPC) case has come and gone with the submission of its interim report to the Presidency but the issues raised in the scandal remain unresolved. The summary of the report submitted by the ICPC chairman, Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu, is that the said agency (Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council, also referred to as the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council) is fake; it was never established by any law, executive order or other valid instrument of government and the self-styled Director-general of the agency, Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew was not appointed by the Federal Government or any authorized government institution. The report stated that the appointment letter and other documents used by the PFIPC were forged.

The ICPC chairman further stated while briefing newsmen after submitting the report that the suspect unlawfully appropriated the identity and office of the defunct Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC), allegedly breaking into the office and using it as the operational base of the fictitious organization. The report cleared Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, the Chief of Staff to the President of any wrong doing in the whole saga and also stressed that investigators found no evidence that public funds were approved or disbursed to the fake PFIPC or PEAC, adding that the inquiry uncovered no operational weaknesses within the State House or the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The commission recommended the prosecution of Prince Adeyemi, disciplinary measures against public officials suspected of aiding the operation of the fake agencies, and reforms to strengthen internal controls across government institutions. Aliyu said officials 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 of the Federation, the Budget Office of the Federation and the National Information Technology Development Agency were identified as collaborators in the alleged scheme.

And when prodded about N400 million bribe allegedly given to Gbajabiamila for the appointment, the ICPC boss parried the question stating that criminal investigation is going on in the case. And many have asked why the commission was in a hurry to clear Gbajabiamila when investigation into the case is still on. The ICPC chairman was also silent on Dolapo Babatunde Tanimola, the intermediary between Gbajabiamila and Prince Adeyemi, who died in a suspicious circumstances in a hotel fire shortly before Adeyemi was arrested last November.

The report seems to indicate that some people are untouchable. In saner environment where things are done properly, the CBN governor, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Head of Service and the Accountant general of the Federation were supposed to go for negligence and complicity in the case. But in Nigeria public officers are untouchable and it is an abomination to ask them to resign. Femi Gbajabiamila is the anointed one and must not be touched. And as if to confirm him as the president’s son in whom nobody can touch or fault, he was appointed a few days after the interim report was submitted to lead a high-powered federal government delegation that includes five state governors (Babagana Zulum of Borno, Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra, Uba Sani of Kaduna, Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau, and Dauda Lawal of Zamfara and three ministers: Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Foreign Affairs, Jumoke Oduwole, Industry, Trade and Investment, and Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, Interior to the inaugural Nigeria Diaspora Investment Economic Conference (NiDEC) in Toronto, Canada, held from August 12 to 15, 2026, to boost trade, investment, and diaspora economic engagement.

It is not difficult to see that the report leaves so much unanswered questions. How can the ICPC boss state openly that the DG of the fake agency unlawfully occupied a space in the Federal Secretariat and operated there for almost two years undetected? Is the Federal Secretariat a street corner plaza or abandoned property? How can he say that no funds were approved for the PFIPC and yet the agency had N1.3 billion appropriated to it in the 2026 Federal budget and had N27 billion approved take-off grant? The report said there was no operational weaknesses in the CBN but it allowed a fake agency to open several accounts. The CBN that supervises the banks and emphasizes due diligence and KYC practice could not uphold what it preaches and yet the report says no operational lapses. It is unfortunate.

Again, the report recommended sanctions for staff found complicit in the PFIPC scandal and yet could not identify or name them. Clearly, the ICPC interim report rather than settle the issue has raised many issues. But, nobody expected less from the government that protects and shield its officials while molesting the opposition. This is what Fela Anikulapo Kuti of blessed memory would call “government magic”. How can the government indict itself? Can a prince be found guilty in his own court? Many observers believe that the alleged probe was a perfunctory exercise done to fulfil all righteousness. Is our state institutions are gradually turning fake like PFIPC?

Hajia Hadiza Mohammed
hajiahadizamohammed@gmail.com
An actress, social activist, politician
London, UK