The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has recommended the prosecution of Adeniyi Adeyemi, the director-general of the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC).
Speaking on Thursday during a briefing with State House
correspondents after presenting an interim investigation report to President
Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Musa Aliyu, ICPC chairman, said
PFIPC had no legal backing and never existed as a government agency.
The briefing followed a 30-day investigation ordered by the
president on July 7 into allegations surrounding the purported presidential
council.
The commission also cleared the presidency and the Central
Bank of Nigeria (CBN) of any wrongdoing but blamed institutional lapses in
several ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).
‘PFIPC HAD NO LEGAL BACKING’
Aliyu said investigators established that Adeniyi Adeyemi
was never appointed by the federal government and that the PFIPC had no legal
existence.
“As you may recall, on the 7th of July, Mr. President
directed the ICPC to conduct an investigation into the fake Presidential
Foreign Investment Promotion Council and submit a report within 30 days,” he
said.
“Today, exactly within the stipulated period, we have
submitted an interim report based on our interactions with all stakeholders
involved.”
According to Aliyu, Tinubu directed the commission to make
its findings public in the interest of transparency and accountability.
He said the investigation found that Adeyemi’s purported
appointment letter was forged.
“It has been established that Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew was
never appointed by the Federal Government or any authority whatsoever,” he
said.
“The Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council,
which sometimes they called the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion
Council, was never established by any law, executive order or any valid
instrument of government.
“The appointment letter presented by Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew
was completely forged alongside similar documents used to perpetuate the
illegal activities of the fake agency.”
Aliyu stated that a purported government gazette used to
legitimise the organisation was also fabricated.
“If you recall, there was a gazette which he used to support
the fake agency. That gazette is an illegal document that never passed through
the processes prescribed by law,” he stated.
“Our investigation found that the office used by the fake
agency was the office of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council. The office
was broken into and access was gained illegally. That was how he was able to
operate from there.”
Aliyu also revealed that investigators uncovered two
additional fictitious government agencies allegedly created by the suspect —
the FCT Investment Promotion Agency (FIPA) and the Foreign Investment Promotion
Agency/Public-Private Partnership (FIPA-PPP).
According to him, fake legislative instruments were used to
create the agencies and open bank accounts.
Despite the elaborate scheme, the ICPC chairman said the
investigation found no evidence that federal government funds were disbursed to
the fake council.
“Our investigation found that no funds of the federal
government were approved or disbursed to the fake PFIPC,” he said.
“We also discovered no weaknesses in the systems of the
State House or the Central Bank of Nigeria during our investigation. The fake
appointment letter did not originate from the presidency.
“Our investigation found that some public officers failed to
carry out due diligence and failed to comply with standard operating procedures
in their ministries and departments. That gave him the opportunity to carry out
these illegal acts.”
He listed the affected institutions as the Office of the
Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Office of the Head of the
Civil Service of the Federation, the Office of the Accountant-General of the
Federation, the Budget Office and NITDA, among others.
ICPC RECOMMENDS PROSECUTION, SANCTIONS
Aliyu said the commission had recommended the prosecution of
Adeyemi, disciplinary action against negligent public officials and reforms to
strengthen internal controls across MDAs.
“Our recommendations are that Mr. Adeniyi Adeyemi should be
prosecuted,” he stated.
“Secondly, administrative sanctions should be imposed on
public officers whose acts of omission and negligence facilitated the illegal
operation of the fake agency.
“We also recommended institutional reforms to strengthen
internal controls across MDAs to block this kind of illegal activity.”
He added that the report submitted to the president was
interim, noting that investigations were continuing to identify other
collaborators and build a stronger criminal case before prosecution.
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