The House of Representatives committee investigating the purported Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council has uncovered 58 bank accounts allegedly connected to the organisation’s detained Director-General, Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi.
The committee also flagged an alleged N400m transaction which it said may have resulted from false representations by Adeyemi.
Chairman of the ad hoc committee, Yusuf Gagdi, disclosed this on Wednesday in Abuja while presenting the panel’s preliminary findings to parliamentary correspondents.
According to him, information obtained from financial and investigative institutions indicated that Adeyemi’s Bank Verification Number and other identification details were associated with a network of personal, corporate, organisational and foundation accounts.
Gagdi said more than 30 of the accounts appeared to have been operated in the names of about nine agencies, companies, foundations and other entities allegedly linked to the PFIPC director-general.
He listed some of the entities as the Confederation of United Nations Youths, FCT Investment Promotion Agency and Public-Private Partnership, Foreign Investment Promotion Agency, United Nations Youth Global Agency, United Nations Youth Global Foundation, World Entrepreneurship University Limited, World Enterprise University Limited and Olubadan of Ibadan Foundation.
The lawmaker stressed that the discovery did not automatically establish that the accounts or organisations were involved in criminal activities.
He said, “The committee is still reconciling registration records, account mandates, beneficial ownership information, signatories and transaction histories to establish the true nature and control of the organisations and accounts.”
However, the panel observed similarities in the names, objectives, management arrangements, signatories and banking relationships of several of the organisations.
Gagdi said the similarities had raised concerns that some organisations might have been created or used to give an appearance of legitimacy to activities, secure official recognition or obtain money from members of the public.
The committee also drew attention to an alleged N400m transaction involving a company which claimed that Adeyemi persuaded it to pay the money in four instalments.
The payments were allegedly made after Adeyemi represented that he could obtain a contract for the renovation, furnishing or improvement of an official residence purportedly allocated to him in his claimed position as PFIPC director-general.
Gagdi said investigators were working to establish where the funds went, who controlled the accounts involved and whether public officials or private individuals participated in or benefited from the transaction.
He said the allegations, if proven through due process, could amount to offences including obtaining money by false pretence, fraudulent misrepresentation, impersonation, conspiracy and forgery.
Beyond the financial investigation, the committee said it found no legal instrument establishing the purported PFIPC.
Gagdi said the panel could not find an Act of the National Assembly, gazetted legislation, presidential executive order or any other lawful instrument creating the organisation.
He added that some documents allegedly used to establish the council’s legitimacy showed signs of fabrication, forgery, mutilation and impersonation.
Among the documents under scrutiny were a purported presidential appointment letter for Adeyemi, an alleged Executive Order and a document presented as an Act of the National Assembly establishing the council.
The committee said evidence obtained from the State House showed that the purported appointment letter was not issued or signed by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila.
The panel also said the letterhead and reference number on the document did not correspond with official State House correspondence.
The committee consequently cleared Gbajabiamila of allegations that he authorised or participated in the creation or activities of the purported council.
Gagdi said the evidence before the committee did not establish any involvement by the Chief of Staff.
“The documentary evidence presently before the Committee does not establish that the Chief of Staff authorised, approved, established or participated in the activities of the purported organisation,” he said.
According to him, Gbajabiamila instead alerted relevant security and investigative agencies after receiving information about the organisation.
The agencies contacted included the Nigeria Police Force, the Office of the National Security Adviser, the Department of State Services and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
The committee also cleared the National Assembly committees responsible for budget scrutiny of wrongdoing in connection with the matter.
The investigation has now shifted towards determining how an organisation allegedly lacking a valid legal foundation managed to gain apparent recognition within government structures and receive budgetary treatment.
Gagdi said the case exposed weaknesses in the procedures for verifying government institutions, creating administrative and budget codes, authenticating official correspondence and granting access to government facilities.
The purported council reportedly occupied office space within the Federal Secretariat Complex and maintained a website presenting it as a Federal Government institution.
The committee also alleged that the organisation used the names, photographs and offices of President Bola Tinubu and other senior government officials without authorisation.
About 39 individuals were reportedly presented as employees of the organisation. The committee is examining their recruitment, appointment letters, identification cards and payment arrangements, including allegations that some prospective workers were asked to pay money before securing employment.
The committee recommended that Ministries, Departments and Agencies stop recognising or dealing with the purported council and any related entity whose legal status has not been independently verified.
It also urged government institutions to ensure that no appropriation, administrative code, warrant, financial release or government facility was provided to the organisation.
The panel further called on financial institutions and investigative agencies to preserve relevant bank records, transaction histories, account mandates and beneficial ownership information.
It recommended that criminal and financial investigations be concluded promptly and that any assets or proceeds established to have been obtained unlawfully be traced, preserved, frozen and recovered in accordance with the law.
The committee also proposed stronger procedures for authenticating newly created government institutions and official correspondence from the Presidency and other senior government offices.
It suggested the development or strengthening of a central digital verification platform that would allow government agencies and members of the public to confirm the legal status and establishing instruments of Federal Government institutions.
Gagdi emphasised that the committee’s findings were preliminary and did not amount to a declaration of criminal guilt.
He said affected persons would be given an opportunity to respond before the final report was submitted to the House.
“The Presidency cannot be impersonated with impunity,” Gagdi said, stressing the need to protect the integrity of Nigeria’s governmental institutions.
He said the final report would identify institutional and individual responsibilities and make recommendations for possible legislative, administrative, disciplinary, civil, financial and prosecutorial action, subject to due process and the decision of the House.
