By Our Reporter

The House of Representatives Ad-Hoc Committee probing the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council has come under growing pressure to widen its investigation by inviting Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, even as lawmakers ordered the Inspector-General of Police to produce the alleged promoter of the non-existent agency, Adeniyi Adeyemi, for questioning on Wednesday.

The calls intensified after the committee, on Monday, directed the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, to produce Adeyemi before lawmakers on Wednesday to answer questions arising from testimonies already received from senior government officials.

The committee’s investigation has so far featured appearances by the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs Didi Walson-Jack; Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Tanimu Yakubu; Director of Banking Services at the Central Bank of Nigeria, Hamisu Abdullahi; Accountant-General of the Federation, Shamseldeen Ogunjimi; and Assistant Commissioner of Police Bashir Abdullahi, who represented the Inspector-General of Police.

Adeyemi, who has been in police custody for more than two weeks, is expected to appear before the committee following Monday’s directive.

However, fresh questions were raised over why Gbajabiamila had not been invited to testify, despite Adeyemi’s alleged statements linking him to the attempted establishment of the council.

A source familiar with the committee’s proceedings told The PUNCH that lawmakers missed an opportunity to seek answers from the police on several key issues during Monday’s hearing.

“The IGP appeared today (Monday) through a representative, a senior police officer. Why did the committee fail to ask relevant questions?

“We are told that the middleman known as Dolapo Tanimola that Adeyemi allegedly gave N400m to give to the Chief of Staff, died mysteriously in a fire incident in Abuja. We are told that this man who ought to have been a principal witness died in a hotel called Kachi Hotel in Utako, Abuja.

“A few days after his death on October 22, 2025, as the story goes, the hotel was demolished by armed individuals, leaving no trace for further investigation. How did the panel allow the IGP, through his representative, to leave without asking him who authorised the demolition of the hotel?

“Again, when will they bring in Gbajabiamila for questioning?” the source queried.

The source’s comments come amid growing public interest in the committee’s findings, particularly following revelations that forged official documents were allegedly used to secure government recognition, office accommodation and budgetary provisions for an agency that has no legal basis.

A political analyst, Jackson Ojo, faulted the House committee chaired by Plateau lawmaker, Yusuf Gagdi, for failing to invite Gbajabiamila to testify.

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“The House investigating panel started wrongly. Apart from Adeyemi, the most important person to have on ground from Day One is Gbajabiamila. Why did they fail to invite him for questioning, if only to clear his name?

“For not inviting him, they have already given the impression that they are not interested in finding out what truly happened,” he said.

HEDA demands accountability

Meanwhile, the Human and Environmental Development Agenda has called on the Chief of Staff to step aside pending the conclusion of investigations.

Speaking exclusively with The PUNCH, HEDA Chairman, Suraju Olanrewaju, said the Office of the Chief of Staff had demonstrated serious administrative lapses in safeguarding the Presidency from fraudulent activities.

He also urged the committee to invite the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, to explain the role of his office and whether adequate due diligence was conducted before the purported council gained official traction.

“In the face of the failure of Adeyemi to provide concrete evidence of direct relationship (physical meeting or telephone calls) with the Chief of Staff, it is difficult to hold him responsible pending conclusion of investigations. However, the incompetence of that office to protect the Presidency and coordinate affairs around the President is a more reason for his complete removal and replacement with a more competent person.

“The Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation is even more complicit in the PFIPC controversy,” Olanrewaju said.

Committee summons Adeyemi

The renewed pressure follows Monday’s resumed hearing at the National Assembly, where the committee formally directed the IGP to produce Adeyemi by noon on Wednesday.

Representing the police, ACP Bashir Abdullahi informed lawmakers that criminal proceedings had already commenced against the suspect.

“The Nigerian Police Force investigated part of this case late last year and filed eight-count charges before a Federal High Court. The case is ongoing,” he said.

He cautioned the committee against compelling the police to disclose information capable of prejudicing ongoing investigations or court proceedings.

“We don’t want to say things that are under investigation. It is definitely going to prejudice the ongoing investigation and make people have opinions that may prejudge the outcome of an investigation or judicial decision,” Abdullahi stated.

The Committee Chairman, Yusuf Gagdi, however, insisted that Adeyemi’s appearance had become necessary because of the gravity of the allegations and the reputations of institutions involved.

“This committee clearly needs the suspected DG to appear before this committee. People’s names are involved. People’s integrity are involved. Institutional names are involved. Institutional integrity are involved.

“It is not an option now. We will need him here to confirm some documents to us in such a way that will not undermine our investigation to enable us to submit our report on time,” Gagdi said.

The committee thereafter resolved that the Inspector-General of Police should ensure Adeyemi’s appearance before lawmakers.

“The committee hereby resolves that the Inspector-General of Police of the Federal Republic of Nigeria do kindly present Mr Adeyemi on Wednesday by 12 noon. That is the ruling of the committee,” Gagdi declared.

Police confirm allegations

During the hearing, the police confirmed receiving petitions from the Office of the Chief of Staff alleging that Adeyemi fraudulently presented himself as Director-General of both the Presidential Economic Advisory Council and the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council.

Investigators told lawmakers that Adeyemi allegedly used the purported office to secure accommodation within the Federal Secretariat, sought approval to recruit about 300 personnel, attempted to obtain a N1.32bn budgetary allocation for the council in the 2026 Appropriation Act and planned to organise a World Investment Summit under the platform of the non-existent agency.

One of the major moments of the hearing came when the committee compared signatures on disputed State House documents with authentic official correspondence obtained during police investigations.

When asked whether the signatures matched, ACP Abdullahi replied, “They are not the same.”

Gagdi said the committee had uncovered about 29 allegedly forged documents, including fake presidential approvals, counterfeit Acts of the National Assembly and forged correspondence purportedly issued by the State House, the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Ministry of Finance and other government agencies.

“We are dealing with documents that include what is said to be a forged Act of the National Assembly in an attempt to establish a fake agency,” Gagdi said.

He explained that the committee had deliberately refrained from pressing the police on sensitive matters that could affect criminal investigations.

“We are avoiding a situation whereby they will be pushed to make statements that will undermine their ongoing investigation,” he added.

Earlier in the hearing, the Accountant-General of the Federation, Shamseldeen Ogunjimi, disclosed that the Office of the Accountant-General unknowingly processed requests from the purported council after receiving what appeared to be an authentic letter from the State House.

According to him, a letter dated November 7, 2024, requested the creation of an administrative code for the Presidential Economic Advisory Council to facilitate budgeting and financial reporting.

Acting on the request, the Treasury created the administrative code and communicated the approval to the State House while copying the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation.

Subsequent requests followed, including applications for self-accounting status, deployment of personnel, opening of Treasury Single Account and domiciliary accounts, as well as funding approvals.

Ogunjimi, however, maintained that no public funds were released to the council.

“It is important to note that no funds were released under salaries, overhead, capital, or any form of intervention or special allocation to the council,” he said.

He also disclosed that a request for a N27.4bn establishment grant was rejected because no budgetary provision existed.

The Accountant-General further revealed that investigations later established that the State House correspondence used to initiate the process was forged.

“The letter that was received by the Treasury was respectfully addressed as coming from the State House.

“That letter was never issued by the State House,” Ogunjimi told lawmakers.

The revelation reinforced the committee’s position that forged presidential documents may have been used to deceive multiple government institutions into recognising an agency that was never legally established.

The committee is expected to continue its investigation on Wednesday with Adeyemi’s appearance, after which lawmakers are expected to recommend administrative, legislative and possible criminal actions against individuals found culpable