ICPC grills Gbajabiamila over PFIPC

By Johnbosco Agbakwuru, ABUJA

Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, on Monday appeared before the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to answer questions about the alleged fake federal agency, the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC).

His appearance at the commission followed its invitation after President Tinubu directed the ICPC to carry out a comprehensive investigation into the scandal surrounding the alleged commission.

Jiti Ogunye, Principal Counsel of Jiti Ogunye Chambers and lawyer to the Chief of Staff, said in a two-paragraph statement that Gbajabiamila complied with the commission’s invitation.

The statement, titled “Gbajabiamila responds to ICPC invitation over ongoing investigation into ‘PFIPC’ fake agency,” said: “In full cooperation with the ICPC and acting as directed by the President of Nigeria, I hereby confirm that my client, Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff to the President of Nigeria, responded to the invitation of the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) and appeared at about 15:00 hrs on Monday, July 20, 2026, as part of the ongoing investigation into the activities of the ‘PFIPC’ fake agency, among others.

“My client gave his testimony, responded to questions accordingly, and has returned to his duty post.”

Recall that the President recently directed the ICPC to conduct a thorough investigation into the activities of PFIPC and all related matters, demanding a comprehensive report within 30 days.

Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, had revealed the directive in a statement titled “President Tinubu orders ICPC to investigate Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council.”

According to Onanuga: “The directive follows the discovery of the fictitious council, which the Presidency said was never established by the Federal Government and has no basis in law, presidential instrument, executive approval or other lawful act of government.”

President Tinubu directed the ICPC to investigate the forged appointment letters and official government documents allegedly used by one Adeniyi Adeyemi Mathew, who claimed to be Director-General of the council and asserted he was a presidential appointee.

The ICPC was also mandated to investigate Adeyemi’s alleged use of a false claim of presidential appointment to seek or obtain official recognition and diplomatic support, including visa facilitation, as well as the opening of multiple bank accounts in the names of purported government agencies using allegedly forged documents.

Tinubu also ordered the ICPC to examine “the wider circumstances that may have enabled a fictitious body and a false claim of presidential appointment to acquire an appearance of official legitimacy,” the statement read.

The statement added, “The investigation is to examine the provenance and use of false official documents; the processes through which official recognition or diplomatic support may have been sought or obtained; the opening and operation of any related bank accounts; the source and movement of any funds involved; and the role of any public officer, private individual, financial institution, intermediary or other person or entity that may have facilitated, enabled or participated in the alleged scheme.”

The President further directed the ICPC to identify weaknesses in government and institutional procedures that were exploited and to recommend immediate measures to prevent a recurrence.

All ministries, departments and agencies of the Federal Government were directed to provide the ICPC with all relevant information, records and assistance required for the expeditious completion of the investigation.

“The integrity of the Presidency and the institutions of the Federal Government must be protected against impersonation, forgery, abuse of official identity and the exploitation of weaknesses in the public service.

“All persons found culpable are to be treated strictly in accordance with applicable law,” the President stated.

The presidential directive came after weeks of mounting public pressure from civil society organisations, opposition politicians and senior lawyers who demanded an independent inquiry into how the fictitious council operated from the Federal Secretariat Complex, opened accounts with the Central Bank of Nigeria, appeared in the 2026 Appropriation Act with an allocation of N1.3bn and engaged diplomatic missions, all without any enabling law or presidential instrument.

Human rights lawyer Femi Falana, who is representing Adeyemi, had questioned how the body found its way into the national budget even if the appointment letter was forged, and called for the ICPC to investigate both Adeyemi and Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila.

The Presidency has denied any connection between Gbajabiamila and the scheme, insisting that forensic analysis by the police confirmed the signature on the appointment letter was forged.

The presidential spokesman, Onanuga, said that the police had conducted forensic analysis of Gbajabiamila’s signature on the disputed appointment letter and found it to be fake.

“The police have investigated this man. They have done forensic analysis of the Chief of Staff’s signature.

The case has been filed at the Federal Court already. And I am telling you that before the police filed the case, they had already done their own forensic analysis and found that the signature was forged.

“They found out that all the documents he was parading were fake,” Onanuga said.

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