The House of Representatives has cleared the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, of any involvement in the activities of the purported Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, PFIPC.
The House Ad Hoc Committee investigating the controversial organisation said its preliminary findings showed no evidence that Gbajabiamila authorised, established, approved or participated in the activities of the council.
The Chairman of the committee, Yusuf Gagdi, disclosed the findings on Wednesday during a press briefing.
The panel said its investigation established that the Chief of Staff took steps to alert security and investigative agencies after concerns were raised about the purported organisation.
According to the lawmakers, the concerns were initially brought to the attention of the Presidency by the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission over suspected fraudulent activities and alleged misuse of institutional materials.
The committee said Gbajabiamila responded within 24 hours by contacting the Nigeria Police Force, Office of the National Security Adviser, Department of State Services and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
He was also said to have directed administrative verification through relevant government institutions.
The panel added that Gbajabiamila subsequently wrote further communications requesting investigations and appropriate action as additional concerns emerged, including issues surrounding a proposed world investment summit.
“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.
“On the contrary, the evidence demonstrates repeated steps to secure investigation, institutional verification and appropriate administrative action,” the committee stated.
The lawmakers consequently commended the Chief of Staff for the security and administrative actions taken whenever concerns over the organisation were brought to his attention.
The committee also said its investigation established that a letter purportedly appointing Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi as Director-General of the PFIPC was forged and falsely attributed to the Presidency.
The document, allegedly bearing Gbajabiamila’s authority and signature, was not issued or approved by the Presidency, according to the panel.
State House records, the committee said, confirmed that the Chief of Staff neither issued nor signed the letter.
It added that the letterhead was not authentic and that the reference number did not conform to the official State House referencing system.
The committee also dismissed documents presented as a Presidential Executive Order and an Act of the National Assembly purportedly establishing the organisation.
According to the lawmakers, the document described as Executive Order No. 5, dated February 24, 2026, was neither issued nor approved through lawful presidential processes.
Similarly, the purported Act was never passed by the Senate and House of Representatives, assented to by the President or gazetted as a law of the Federation.
The panel said part of an instrument belonging to another institution appeared to have been electronically altered or manipulated to create the impression that the National Assembly established the PFIPC.
The lawmakers said no valid law, executive order, administrative instrument or other lawful authority establishing an institution known as the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council was discovered during the investigation.
The committee further disclosed that preliminary financial information linked about 58 bank accounts to identifying details associated with Adeyemi.
The PFIPC controversy erupted after the purported agency, allegedly headed by Adeyemi, appeared in the 2026 Federal Government budget despite questions over its legal existence.
Adeyemi had allegedly claimed to be the council’s Director-General and said he was appointed by Gbajabiamila.
The Chief of Staff, however, denied any involvement, prompting the House of Representatives to launch an investigation into the purported agency and how it allegedly found its way into the Federal Government’s budget.
The probe has also uncovered another alleged fake government agency, the National Brands Development and Made-in-Nigeria Special Project Office, raising further concerns over the operation of purported government institutions without lawful authority.
