The self-acclaimed Director-General of the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, has challenged allegations that he single-handedly created the disputed agency, claiming that several ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) of the Federal Government officially recognised, processed and interacted with the council.
Adeyemi, who is currently in police custody, made the claims in a statement issued on Sunday by his legal team, led by Festus Akhigbe. He also urged the House of Representatives ad hoc committee investigating the PFIPC to allow him to appear before it, insisting that denying him the opportunity to testify would violate his constitutional right to a fair hearing.
According to the legal team, any report by the committee chaired by Rep. Yusuf Gagdi that excludes Adeyemi’s testimony would be incomplete and contrary to the principle of audi alteram partem (hear the other side).
The defence rejected claims that Adeyemi acted alone in establishing the agency, arguing that the PFIPC received official recognition and administrative support from several government institutions over an extended period.
Among the allegations, the lawyers claimed that the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation acknowledged documents relating to the council and facilitated office allocation within the Federal Secretariat.
They further alleged that the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation and the Central Bank of Nigeria processed official documentation, issued administrative budget codes, granted self-accounting status, deployed civil servants to the council and opened operational accounts for it.
The statement also claimed that the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation approved the agency’s establishment structure and granted recruitment waivers that enabled the employment of 314 personnel.
In addition, the legal team alleged that heads of security agencies attended programmes organised by the council, while the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) allocated office space to the agency, requested a processing fee and presented a plaque of recognition to its leadership.
The lawyers argued that if key government institutions, including the SGF’s office, the Accountant-General, the CBN, the Head of Service, the Budget Office, the EFCC, the National Assembly and security agencies, had all processed and interacted with the agency, it would be impossible to hold one individual solely responsible.
They maintained that Adeyemi was being made a scapegoat for wider institutional failures and called for a broader, independent investigation involving civil society groups, legal experts and other stakeholders to examine the full paper trail across all ministries, departments and agencies linked to the council.
The House of Representatives is currently investigating the controversial agency. During previous hearings, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack, admitted that her office failed to conduct adequate due diligence before approving recruitment requests associated with the PFIPC.