By Oluwakemi Kindness
The Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF), Shamseldeen Ogunjimi, has revealed that a forged State House letter was used to secure official government recognition for the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC).
Appearing before the House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee investigating the agency on Monday, Ogunjimi said the Office of the Accountant-General acted on what appeared to be a genuine communication from the State House requesting the creation of an administrative code for the council. He, however, disclosed that subsequent investigations confirmed the letter was fake and did not originate from the Presidency.
According to the AGF, the Treasury processed the request in November 2024 in line with established procedures, believing it was implementing a legitimate presidential directive. Following the approval, the council sought self-accounting status, deployment of personnel, the opening of Treasury Single Account and domiciliary accounts, as well as funding approvals.
Ogunjimi stressed that despite the applications, no public funds were released to the organisation. He explained that its request for a ₦27.4 billion establishment grant was rejected because there was no budgetary provision to support the payment.
He also disclosed that although the Central Bank of Nigeria opened two domiciliary accounts for the council, they never became operational after the organisation failed to meet regulatory requirements.
Members of the House Committee expressed concern over how the alleged fake agency was able to gain access to multiple government institutions without raising red flags.
The committee is investigating allegations that forged presidential approvals, counterfeit State House correspondence and fake Acts of the National Assembly were used to establish and operate the PFIPC.
Lawmakers have also directed the Inspector-General of Police to produce the organisation’s self-acclaimed Director-General, Adeyemi Adeniyi, before the committee on Wednesday as the probe continues.
