By Oluwakemi Kindness
The House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee investigating the Presidential Foreign Intervention/Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) has widened its probe, summoning the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), key ministers, heads of government agencies and the Inspector-General of Police to appear before it on Thursday.
Committee Chairman, Yusuf Gagdi, issued the summons following fresh revelations during the appearance of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack, over the establishment, staffing, office allocation and funding of the controversial council.
Gagdi said the SGF would be required to explain how office accommodation officially allocated to the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation came to be occupied by the PFIPC.
The Inspector-General of Police is also expected to appear alongside investigators handling the case to provide updates on the ongoing investigation and individuals linked to the council.
Others summoned include the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Finance, Minister of Budget and National Planning, Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Accountant-General of the Federation, Budget Office of the Federation, Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC).
According to the committee, the officials are expected to explain their respective roles in matters relating to the PFIPC as lawmakers intensify efforts to unravel how the council was established, staffed and funded.
The committee also directed the Nigeria Police Force to produce two individuals, Patricia Akibe and Joko Oduwayefe, whose names reportedly featured in documents submitted before the panel, as investigations into the operations of the PFIPC continue.
