Pressure is mounting on the House of Representatives Ad-Hoc Committee investigating the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), with growing calls for the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, to appear before lawmakers as the probe gathers momentum.
The committee has also directed the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, to produce the alleged promoter of the non-existent agency, Adeniyi Adeyemi, for questioning on Wednesday.
The demand for Gbajabiamila’s appearance follows claims that Adeyemi allegedly mentioned his name while making statements to investigators over the attempted establishment of the fake council.
During Monday’s hearing, lawmakers heard testimonies from several top government officials, including the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs Didi Walson-Jack, Director-General of the Budget Office, Tanimu Yakubu, Director of Banking Services at the Central Bank of Nigeria, Hamisu Abdullahi, Accountant-General of the Federation, Shamseldeen Ogunjimi, and a representative of the Inspector-General of Police.
Adeyemi, who has reportedly been in police custody for more than two weeks, is expected to appear before the committee after lawmakers insisted his testimony had become necessary.
A source familiar with the investigation criticised the committee for failing to question the police on key issues during Monday’s sitting, including the alleged death of a middleman identified as Dolapo Tanimola, who was said to have received ₦400 million from Adeyemi for onward delivery to the Chief of Staff.
The source also questioned why investigators did not seek answers about the reported demolition of a hotel in Abuja where Tanimola allegedly died in a fire.
Political analyst Jackson Ojo also faulted the committee for not inviting Gbajabiamila from the beginning of the investigation, arguing that his testimony would help clear doubts surrounding the allegations.
The Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA) has also called on the Chief of Staff to step aside while investigations continue.
HEDA Chairman, Suraju Olanrewaju, said the Office of the Chief of Staff failed to protect the Presidency from what he described as fraudulent activities and urged lawmakers to also invite the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, to explain his office's role in the matter.
At Monday’s hearing, the police confirmed receiving petitions from the Office of the Chief of Staff accusing Adeyemi of falsely presenting himself as Director-General of both the Presidential Economic Advisory Council and the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council.
Investigators alleged that Adeyemi used the fake office to obtain accommodation within the Federal Secretariat, sought approval to recruit about 300 workers, attempted to secure a ₦1.32 billion budget allocation in the 2026 Appropriation Act, and planned to organise a World Investment Summit under the council's name.
A key moment during the hearing came when lawmakers compared signatures on disputed State House documents with authentic official signatures obtained by the police.
Responding to questions, ACP Bashir Abdullahi confirmed that the signatures did not match.
Committee Chairman Yusuf Gagdi disclosed that investigators had uncovered about 29 suspected forged documents, including fake presidential approvals, forged Acts of the National Assembly and counterfeit letters purportedly issued by the State House, the Office of the Head of Service, the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and the Ministry of Finance.
He explained that the committee had deliberately avoided asking questions that could interfere with ongoing criminal investigations.
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Meanwhile, the Accountant-General of the Federation, Shamseldeen Ogunjimi, told lawmakers that his office unknowingly processed requests from the fake council after receiving what appeared to be an authentic letter from the State House.
According to him, the Treasury created an administrative code for the council following the request, but no public funds were ever released to it.
He added that a request for a ₦27.4 billion establishment grant was rejected because there was no budgetary provision.
Ogunjimi also confirmed that investigations later established the State House letter used to initiate the process was forged.
The House committee is expected to continue its investigation on Wednesday when Adeyemi appears before lawmakers, with further recommendations likely after his testimony.
