PFIPC Scandal: We Rejected Collaboration With ‘Fake’ Agency – Foreign Affairs Ministry

The Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs has disowned the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), saying it never had any official dealings with the council or its alleged director-general, Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi.

Adeyemi was confirmed by security authorities as being unknown to the federal government.

Permanent secretary of the ministry, Ambassador Dunoma Umar Ahmed, stated this when he represented the minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, before the House of Representatives Ad-Hoc Committee investigating the PFIPC at the National Assembly Complex on Tuesday.

Ahmed, however, said the so-called director-general of PFIPC had approached the Ministry on three occasions – 26 June 2025, 5 August 2025, and 5 June 2026 – seeking its collaboration and endorsement to host a World Investment Summit in Nigeria.

He stated that the Ministry declined all three requests after conducting due diligence, citing inconsistencies and discrepancies in the correspondence submitted by the self-acclaimed director-general, as well as concerns about the legitimacy of both the Council and its purported leadership.

The permanent secretary said the Ministry subsequently wrote to the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) on 16 October 2025, requesting clarification on the status of Adeyemi as director-general of the PFIPC.

He told the Committee that the Office of the National Security Adviser replied on 26 November 2025, stating that enquiries made with the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF) and the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President established that Prince Adeyemi was unknown to any office of the federal government.

Ahmed also informed lawmakers that the Ministry never participated in any diplomatic engagement, bilateral or multilateral discussions involving the PFIPC, nor did it facilitate any foreign investors, international partners or delegations on behalf of the council.

He said no Memorandum of Understanding, treaty, or investment agreement was signed with any foreign government through the PFIPC, and that no Nigerian mission abroad had any interaction with the council because the Ministry never issued any directive recognising its activities.

The permanent secretary further stated that apart from the correspondence already submitted to the Committee, the Ministry had no official records relating to the PFIPC.

He insisted that the Ministry had never recognised, collaborated with or engaged the PFIPC or its alleged director-general in any official capacity.

The Committee chairman, Hon. Yusuf Gagdi (APC, Plateau), expressed concern over the revelation that the Office of the National Security Adviser had, as far back as November 2025, established that the federal government did not recognise the alleged director-general and the purported council.

He questioned the steps taken by the nation’s security architecture after the discovery, insisting that the Committee was duty-bound to ascertain whether appropriate action had been taken to curtail the organisation’s activities.

The Committee, therefore, invited the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, to appear before it on Thursday at 12:00  to explain the actions taken by his office after confirming that the PFIPC was not a recognised government institution.

The Committee also insisted that the Minister of Foreign Affairs must appear in person before the panel to provide further clarification on issues arising from the Ministry’s submissions.

Gagdi said the invitations were necessary because the Committee needed to determine what actions the Office of the National Security Adviser took after the Ministry of Foreign Affairs raised concerns about the organisation’s authenticity.

“It is now the duty of the Committee to move further and invite the Office of the National Security Adviser to come and answer the very important question raised by Honourable Abubakar Fulata that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs received a letter from this agency under investigation, whether it exists or it doesn’t exist.

“What have you done as an office that has the power and capacity to carry out further investigation in respect of this matter? He is to appear before this Committee because the Ministry of Foreign Affairs received correspondence from the suspended Director-General that raises suspicions of foul play and discrepancies.

“The NSA responded that it is an illegal agency. What has the Office of the National Security Adviser done as a security institution after that discovery? If they had discovered that the agency did not exist, appropriate action ought to have been taken. They should come before this Committee and explain the actions they have taken,” he added.

More revelations are expected as the House Ad-hoc Committee continues with the investigation into the existence and operations of the PFIPC.

At its inaugural meeting on Monday, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said it had opened two foreign-currency domiciliary accounts for the controversial Presidential Council.

The director of Banking Services Department at the CBN, Hamisu Ibrahim, said the accounts, one in US dollars and the other in British pounds sterling, were opened following a mandate received from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.

“On 30 July 2025, we received a mandate dated 29 July 2025 from the Office of the Accountant-General. We received the mandate to authorise two accounts: one a dollar-domiciled and the other a pound-domiciled account for the Presidential Economic Advisory Council/Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council.

“The process of opening an account requires a mandate from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation. Once we receive that mandate, we perform all the necessary verifications to confirm that this mandate is actually coming from that office,” Ibrahim said.

He, however, noted that no one came to activate the accounts after they were opened, and that they had zero balance.

“We did not receive any correspondence, mandate, signature or mandate cards. We were not introduced to the authorising or approving officers.

“Based on that, those accounts remain inactive, with zero balance. There have been no foreign exchange allocations,” Ibrahim added.