House of Representatives ad hoc committee investigating the scandal surrounding the alleged fake Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) on Monday said it had uncovered at least 29 allegedly forged official documents linked to the agency and its Director-General, Adeniyi Adeyemi Mathew.
Chairman of the committee, Yusuf Gagdimade the disclosure during the appearance of the Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF), Shamseldeen Ogunjimi, before the panel.
According to him, the investigation had uncovered forged documents purportedly issued by the State House, the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF), the Federal Ministry of Finance and other government institutions.
Among the documents was one allegedly bearing the forged signature of the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila.
He said 13 civil servants linked to the operations of the purported agency from the OSGF, the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) and the Office of the Head of the Civil Service have been summoned to appear before the panel on Tuesday to explain their roles.
The committee directed the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Olatunji Disu, to produce Adeyemi before it by noon tomorrow.
Adeyemi has been in police custody since his arrest at his hideout in Osun State on July 15.
His arrest followed a bench warrant issued after he allegedly failed to appear in court to answer criminal charges filed against him by the police.
“This committee clearly needs the suspected DG to appear before it. People’s names are involved. People’s integrity is involved. Institutional names are involved. Institutional integrity is involved. It is no longer optional.
“We need him here to confirm some documents before us in a manner that will not undermine our investigation, so that we can conclude our assignment and submit our report on time,” he said.
An Assistant Commissioner of Police, Bashir Abdullahi, who represented the IGP, confirmed before the committee that some of the documents issued in the name of the purported agency were fake.
He said although police investigations were still ongoing, the Force had already filed an eight-count charge against the suspect before the Federal High Court.
“The Police investigated part of this matter last year and filed an eight-count charge before the Federal High Court. The case is ongoing,” he said.
According to Abdullahi, the suspect had been arrested and arraigned, adding that disclosing further details could prejudice the ongoing investigation and judicial proceedings.
“We do not want to say things that are still under investigation. Doing so could prejudice the investigation and influence public opinion before the court reaches a decision,” he said.
The committee, however, sought confirmation of documentary evidence already before it.
The police confirmed that on October 17, 2025, the Chief of Staff to the President petitioned security agencies over allegations against Adeyemi, leading to investigations that culminated in criminal charges bordering on conspiracy and fraud.
The Force also confirmed receiving another petition alleging that Adeyemi falsely presented himself as the Director-General of both the Presidential Economic Advisory Council and the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council.
According to the police, the petition alleged that the suspect used the purported office to secure accommodation at the Federal Secretariat, sought approval to recruit about 300 staff, attempted to insert about $1.3 billion into the 2026 Appropriation Bill for the non-existent agency and planned a World Investment Summit under the platform of the council.
During the hearing, lawmakers compared signatures on documents allegedly issued by the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President with authentic correspondence obtained from the police.
Asked whether the signatures matched, the police officer replied that they did not.
The committee said the discrepancy reinforced concerns that official State House documents had been forged.
Gagdi said documentary evidence received from several government institutions contradicted documents allegedly issued by the purported agency.
He added that many of the affected institutions had already appeared before the committee and disowned the documents attributed to them.
The chairman stressed that the committee was careful not to compel the police to disclose information that could jeopardise ongoing criminal investigations.
(Ripples)
