PFIPC: State House denies backing ‘fake’ agency as FRSC clarifies plate approval

A House of Representatives ad-hoc committee investigating the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) has uncovered significant inconsistencies in the documents related to the agency's establishment. The State House has firmly denied any role in authorizing the council's creation or requesting a budget code for it, asserting they were unaware of the agency's existence until it appeared in the media.

During an investigative hearing in Abuja, officials from the State House appeared before lawmakers to clarify their position. Abdulkadri Idris, representing the Permanent Secretary of the State House, stated that the presidency neither initiated nor authorized the PFIPC. He explicitly denied sending any correspondence or requests to the Office of the Accountant-General regarding the council, emphasizing that the State House has no statutory responsibility for establishing government agencies.

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I want to state that we did not send any correspondence nor any request to the Office of the Accountant-General in respect of this council. We don’t even know anything about this council. We never heard about this council until we started seeing it in the media.

Idris also dismissed documents presented to the committee, which purportedly originated from the State House, as fraudulent. He pointed to a document allegedly signed by "Akande Adewale" as Director of Administration and Support Services, explaining that neither such an office nor an official with that name has ever existed within the State House. To substantiate their claims, the State House submitted official records, including authentic letterheads and a historical list of Directors of Administration, to the Nigeria Police National Cybercrime Centre.

The committee's chairman, Yusuf Gagdi, noted the stark discrepancies between documents obtained from the Accountant-General's Office and the official records provided by the State House. The investigation aims to understand how the PFIPC was allegedly created, gained official recognition, and was integrated into the 2026 Appropriation Act despite questions surrounding its legal status.

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I presented the list of Directors of Administration in the State House from 2003 to date, and there was no name resembling Akande Adewale. In addition, there is no department known as Directorate of Administration and Support Services in the State House. We have only the Department of Administration. Akande Adewale has never, ever been Director of Administration in the State House.