PFIPC: Reps Panel Clears Gbaja, Links 12 Agencies, 58 Bank Accounts To DG

ABUJA — The House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee investigating the controversial Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, PFIPC, has exonerated the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, from allegations that he authorised, established or participated in the activities of the purported government agency.

The committee, chaired by Rep. Yusuf Adamu Gagdi, said its preliminary findings showed that the organisation was not lawfully created by the Federal Government and that documents allegedly used to confer presidential and legislative legitimacy on it were forged, fabricated or altered.

Of particular significance, the committee found that a purported letter appointing Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi as Director-General of the PFIPC and allegedly bearing Gbajabiamila’s authority and signature was not issued by the Chief of Staff or the Presidency.

According to the committee, evidence obtained from the State House established that “no such appointment was made or approved by the Presidency” and that “the Chief of Staff neither issued nor signed the letter.”

The lawmakers further found that the letterhead was not authentic State House letterhead, while the purported reference number was inconsistent with the official referencing system of the Presidency.

“The format, language and administrative features of the document departed materially from official State House correspondence,” the committee stated.

It consequently made a preliminary finding that “the purported appointment letter was fabricated and falsely attributed to the Presidency.”

The finding effectively clears Gbajabiamila of the allegation, as the committee said it found no evidence linking him to the purported appointment or organisation.

Rather than finding evidence linking the Chief of Staff to the alleged scheme, the committee said documents before it showed that Gbajabiamila had taken steps to trigger investigations into the organisation when concerns were brought to his attention.

It said that following an alert from the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission, NIPC, over suspected fraudulent activities and misuse of institutional materials, Gbajabiamila acted within one day by communicating with security and investigative agencies.

The agencies included the Nigeria Police Force, Office of the National Security Adviser, Department of State Services, DSS, and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

The committee said he also initiated administrative verification through relevant government institutions.

It added that when additional concerns emerged, including issues surrounding a proposed World Investment Summit, further communications requesting investigation and appropriate action were issued.

In one of its strongest findings, the committee stated: “The documentary evidence presently before the Committee does not establish that the Chief of Staff authorised, approved, established or participated in the activities of the purported organisation.”

It added: “On the contrary, the evidence demonstrates repeated steps to secure investigation, institutional verification and appropriate administrative action.”

The committee therefore commended Gbajabiamila for the timely security and administrative interventions he undertook whenever the matter was formally brought to his attention.

The committee said it uncovered a purported Presidential Executive Order No. 5, dated February 24, 2026, which was allegedly used to provide legal authority for the organisation.

The lawmakers, however, said evidence before them indicated that the document was neither issued nor approved through lawful presidential processes.

“The evidence presently available indicates that the document was not an authentic Executive Order of the President and was neither issued nor approved through the lawful processes of the Presidency,” the committee said.

It described the alleged fabrication of a presidential instrument as an exceptionally serious matter capable of undermining the authority of the Nigerian state.

The committee also uncovered what it described as the alleged mutilation and fabrication of a document presented as an Act of the National Assembly establishing the purported agency.

According to the lawmakers, the document was never passed by both chambers of the National Assembly, assented to by the President or gazetted as an Act of the Federation.

More seriously, the committee said portions of a document relating to another institution appeared to have been electronically altered, mutilated or substituted to create the impression that Parliament had established the purported organisation.

“The Committee considers this aspect of the investigation particularly grave,” the report stated.

It added that “no individual, organisation or group has the lawful authority to manufacture legislative authority by editing, mutilating, substituting or fabricating a document and presenting it as an enactment of Parliament.”