Fresh Debate As Gbajabiamila Comments On SGF Office’s Link To Controversial Agency

Saturday Punch has obtained official documents that have raised fresh questions over the Presidency’s claim that the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) never existed.

The documents revealed that the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) received, acknowledged and acted on correspondence submitted in the name of the council months before the Presidency publicly disowned same.

It was reported that one of the documents showed that the office of the SGF had processed and forwarded a request by the council’s self-styled Director-General, Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, for office accommodation from recovered Federal Government properties through the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

It was signed by the Permanent Secretary, General Services Office, Nnamdi Maurice Mbaeri, on behalf of the SGF. The letter was dated November 21, 2024.

Registry stamps indicated that Adeyemi’s letter, dated November 7, 2024, was received by the SGF’s office on November 12 and sent to the EFCC nine days after that.

The forwarding letter titled, “Request for Office Accommodation”, said, “I am directed to forward attached copies of letters requesting allocation of office accommodation from the recovered Federal Government landed properties for further necessary action.”

Adeyemi, in his letter to the SGF, described the PFIPC as a Federal Government investment promotion agency saddled with the responsibility of attracting foreign direct investment into Nigeria.

He said the council “serves as well as the resource and coordinating centre for the Nation’s Foreign Investment Promotion activities, a One-Stop-Shop for Investments centre coordinating investment-related activities across ministries, departments and agencies and promoting Nigeria as a preferred investment destination.”

The letter added that the council “facilitates the interaction between public and private sectors, and has an active role in policy advocacy and promotes a positive image of Nigeria as a country attractive to foreign investors.”

The documents were disclosed as Adeyemi is being prosecuted for allegedly running a fake government agency, forging a presidential appointment letter purportedly signed by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila and falsely presenting himself as the Director-General of the PFIPC.

He was also accused of running 34 bank accounts, including some in the names of alleged government agencies, and conducting official business under the banner of the council.

But in a statement on Wednesday, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, insisted that the PFIPC was fictitious.

In the statement titled “Re: The Matter of Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew and the Fictitious Presidential Economic Advisory Council”, the criminal case against Adeyemi was detailed including a police investigation report, charges filed against him and allegations of fraudulent conduct.