The Accountant-General of the Federation, Shamseldeen Ogunjimi, has told the 10th House of Representatives Ad-Hoc Committee investigating the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) that a forged State House letter was used to secure official government recognition for the fake agency.
Appearing before the committee yesterday, Ogunjimi said his office received what appeared to be a genuine State House letter in November 2024 requesting the creation of an administrative code for the council, which was processed in line with procedure. He, however, disclosed that investigations later confirmed the letter did not originate from the State House.
He said although the Office of the Accountant-General processed requests for an administrative code, self-accounting status, personnel deployment and bank accounts, no public funds were released to the council. A request for a ₦27.4 billion establishment grant was also rejected because it had no budgetary provision.
Ogunjimi added that two domiciliary accounts opened by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) never became operational because the organisation failed to meet regulatory requirements.
The committee expressed concern over how the purported agency passed through several government processes undetected and concluded that forged State House documents were used to mislead public institutions.
The investigation is probing allegations that forged presidential approvals, fake Acts of the National Assembly and counterfeit government documents were used to establish and operate the PFIPC and the Presidential Economic Advisory Council.
Lawmakers also directed the Inspector-General of Police to produce the prime suspect, Adeyemi Adeniyi, before the committee on Wednesday over allegations of forgery and fraud.
The committee is expected to conclude its investigation with recommendations on administrative, legislative and criminal actions against those found culpable.
