By Oluwakemi Kindness
The State House has denied any involvement in the purported Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), saying it neither created nor recognised the council.
The disclosure was made on Thursday before the House of Representatives committee investigating the activities of the council.
The State House Director of Administration, Abdulkadri Idris, said his office never sent any request to the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation for a budget allocation for PFIPC.
“We never heard of this council until we started seeing it in the media,” Idris told the committee.
He also disowned correspondence allegedly signed by a person identified as Akanbi Adewale, who was presented as a State House Director of Administration and Support services.
Idris said State House records showed that no person by that name had ever served as Director of Administration.
He said the official who occupied the position when the disputed letter was allegedly signed in November 2024 was Funke Osunkoya, who retired in January 2025.
The State House Director of Administration also said there was no department known as Director of Administration and Support Services in the institution.
According to him, the State House only has a Department of Administration.
Idris presented the committee with a list of former Directors of Administration dating back to 2003, saying the name “Akanbi Adewale” was not on the list.
The State House also submitted samples of its official letterhead.
Idris said the letterhead used in the disputed documents differed from the authentic State House letterhead.
He said the disputed letterhead also contained an online address and telephone contact that were not features of the official State House letterhead.
FRSC issued seven number plates
Meanwhile, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) told the committee that it issued seven official Federal Government vehicle number plates to the purported council.
The FRSC Corps Marshal, Shehu Idris, said he ordered an internal review after the controversy surrounding PFIPC emerged.
He said the review confirmed that the FRSC had processed an application from the purported council.
According to Idris, the first request was received on April 4, 2025, from the purported Presidential Economic Advisory Council/Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council.
The request was signed by Prince Adeyemi, who presented himself as the Director-General.
A reminder was reportedly received on April 11, 2025.
The FRSC said the applications came with documents presented as the council’s establishment documents, mandate and list of vehicles requiring registration.
Idris said the FRSC followed its standard procedure for issuing Federal Government number plates.
For newly established agencies, he said applicants are required to provide an enabling law or instrument establishing the agency.
FRSC officials also visited the address provided by the purported council and found an office operating there.
The Corps said it also checked a website linked to the organisation.
According to Shehu Idris, the website used a federal government domain and contained information that appeared to support the claim that the council was a legitimate government institution.
The FRSC later discovered that the purported investment promotion council was not an approved Federal Government agency.
The Corps has since commenced moves to retrieve the number plates.
It also said it was strengthening its verification procedures to prevent similar incidents.
Reps question conflicting requests
The committee subsequently questioned the FRSC over conflicting requests for vehicle number plates.
The committee chairman, Yusuf Gagdi, noted that one document requested five plates, while another requested seven.
He asked whether the two requests were connected.
Gagdi also asked whether FRSC had verified the vehicles through their chassis numbers before issuing the plates.
The Corps confirmed that the chassis numbers were checked against the vehicles presented for registration.
The committee requested further details on the vehicles linked to the chassis numbers.
Gagdi said the testimonies had raised serious questions about how documents relating to an allegedly non-existent government agency were processed by different government institutions.
He said the committee would continue its investigation and invite other officials connected to the council’s alleged operations.
