Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The House of Representatives Ad-Hoc Committee investigating the alleged Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council has summoned the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, to appear before it on Thursday at 12 noon to explain what action his office took after confirming that the PFIPC was not a recognised government institution. The committee, chaired by Representative Yusuf Gagdi, also insisted that the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, appear in person to provide further clarification. The summons followed a testimony by the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Dunoma Umar Ahmed, who told lawmakers that the ministry never recognised the PFIPC and had rejected multiple requests from its self-styled Director-General, Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi.
Ahmed informed the committee that Adeyemi approached the ministry on three occasions — June 26, 2025; August 5, 2025; and June 5, 2026 — seeking collaboration and endorsement to host a World Investment Summit in Nigeria. He identified himself as the Director-General of both the Presidential Economic Advisory Council and the PFIPC. The ministry declined all three requests after due diligence uncovered inconsistencies in the documents and raised serious doubts about the legitimacy of both the council and its leadership. According to Ahmed, the ministry subsequently wrote to the Office of the National Security Adviser on October 16, 2025, seeking clarification on Adeyemi's status and the legal standing of the PFIPC. The ONSA responded on November 26, 2025, confirming that enquiries made through the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President established that Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Mathew was unknown to any office of the Federal Government.
The Permanent Secretary further told the committee that the ministry never participated in any diplomatic engagement involving the PFIPC, facilitated no foreign investors or international partners on its behalf, signed no Memorandum of Understanding or investment agreement through the council, and never directed any Nigerian mission abroad to engage with it. Apart from the correspondence already submitted, Ahmed said the ministry had no official records relating to the PFIPC and had never collaborated with either the council or its alleged Director-General in any official capacity.
Reacting to the revelations, Committee Chairman Yusuf Gagdi expressed concern that despite the National Security Adviser's confirmation in November 2025 that the PFIPC was not a recognised government institution, questions remained over what actions were subsequently taken by the country's security agencies. He stated that it was the committee's responsibility to determine whether appropriate measures were implemented after establishing that the council had no legal existence. "If they discovered that the agency does not exist, then appropriate action ought to have been taken," Gagdi said. Consequently, the committee summoned Ribadu to appear on Thursday to explain the measures taken by his office after confirming that the PFIPC was not recognised by the Federal Government.
The House committee is investigating how the PFIPC allegedly operated as a federal government agency despite having no legal basis for its existence, and how it secured an allocation of over N1.3 billion in the 2026 Appropriation Act. The probe was initiated following allegations by Adeyemi that he paid N400 million to the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, by proxy to secure his appointment, and that Gbajabiamila allegedly demanded 48 per cent from the agency's N27.3 billion take-off grant. Gbajabiamila has debunked the allegations and filed a N15 billion defamation suit against Adeyemi. The committee is also examining how Adeyemi obtained approvals for the employment of 300 staff members and an office space at the Federal Secretariat in Abuja. The investigation has already revealed that the Central Bank of Nigeria opened two domiciliary accounts for the council upon authorisation from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, despite the council's lack of legal standing. As the committee continues its work, the summons of the National Security Adviser and the Minister of Foreign Affairs signals a determination to uncover the full extent of the institutional failures that allowed a phantom agency to operate at the highest levels of government for nearly two years.
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