Nigeria's House probes 'fake' agency's N1.3bn budget claims

Nigeria's House of Representatives has launched an ad-hoc committee to scrutinize the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council. The committee will investigate allegations that the council was fraudulently presented as a federal agency and had a substantial budget of over ₦1.3 billion inserted into the 2026 Appropriation framework.

Chaired by Yusuf Gagdi, the committee's mandate includes determining the legality of the council's existence and whether government processes were compromised. The alleged "fake" agency is already the subject of legal proceedings, with its Director General, Adeyemi Adeniyi, expected to stand trial. Adeniyi has accused President Bola Tinubu's Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, of facilitating the agency's creation for personal gain. The Federal Government has refuted these claims, labeling Adeniyi a fraudster.

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The House notes that between November 2004 and October 2005, an entity styling itself as Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council operated at the Federal Secretariat Complex, Phase 3, Abuja and interacted with various organs of government, although the federal government has since declared that no such agency was ever lawfully established.

Gagdi presented the motion, alleging the entity operated without a valid legal foundation, despite interacting with government institutions from its base in Abuja. He noted that while the government maintains no such agency was lawfully established, the entity claimed to be founded under a specific law. Records, however, suggest it may have been an attempt to duplicate the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission Act. The House emphasized its investigation would not interfere with ongoing court proceedings or the President's own probe.

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The nearest designation to this chapter is Chapter N117, being the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission Act, suggesting that the alleged council may have been attempting to duplicate an existing statutory body.