The House of Representatives has intensified its probe into the operations of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), summoning the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, and several top government officials to explain how the council secured office space within the Federal Secretariat and found its way into the national budget framework.
The invitation was issued on Monday by the House ad hoc committee investigating the circumstances surrounding the establishment and activities of the PFIPC. The committee also requested the appearance of the Minister of Finance, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, the Accountant-General of the Federation, Dr Shamseldeen Ogunjimi, and the Director-General of the Budget Office, Mr Tanimu Yakubu.
Lawmakers directed the officials to appear before the panel on July 21 to clarify the legal and administrative basis for the council’s existence amid growing concerns over its operations.
The investigation follows allegations that the PFIPC, headed by Adeyemi Adeniyi, had been operating from offices within the Federal Secretariat, maintained accounts with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and was included in the proposed 2026 budget despite questions surrounding its establishment.
Testimonies presented during the public hearing further deepened the controversy. The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs Didi Walson-Jack, told lawmakers that the office space occupied by the council had originally been allocated to her office. She disclosed that although the PFIPC had approached the Office of the Head of Service for approval of its organisational structure, the request was declined because the necessary documentation was not provided.
According to Walson-Jack, her office neither approved accommodation for the council nor deployed any civil servants to work there, raising fresh questions about how the body came to operate within government premises.
Officials of the Central Bank also confirmed that the council had opened two accounts with the apex bank. CBN Director of Banking, Hamisu Abdullahi, explained that the accounts were established following a directive from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation dated July 30, 2025.
Abdullahi noted, however, that although the accounts were successfully created, they remained inactive because no authorised signatories were presented to the bank. He added that the opening of government accounts typically requires prior clearance from the Accountant-General’s office, in line with established procedures.
The committee’s chairman, Representative Yusuf Gagdi, pledged that lawmakers would thoroughly investigate the matter. As scrutiny intensifies, the probe is expected to determine whether the PFIPC followed the required administrative and legal processes in securing government facilities and obtaining recognition within the federal budget.
