PFIPC Scandal: Adeyemi Insists on Lawyers, Media Present Before House Probe

By Victor Idajil

The House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee probing the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council, PFIPC, is yet to decide where it will question the council’s self-appointed Director-General, Adeniyi Adeyemi, a source close to the panel has said.

Adeyemi, who is currently in police custody over the controversy, has said he will only appear before the committee if his lawyers and journalists are present.

The committee, chaired by Yusuf Gagdi, who represents Kanke/Kanam/Pankshin Federal Constituency of Plateau State, is investigating how the PFIPC secured office space in the Federal Secretariat Complex in Abuja and was allocated over N1.32 billion in the 2026 budget despite allegedly having no legal backing.

The probe has drawn wide public attention after allegations that the council operated within government structures without legal recognition, raising questions about lapses in financial management and institutional oversight.

Adeyemi is expected to appear before the committee this week, following testimonies from senior government officials. But as of Sunday, the venue for the session had not been fixed.

A source who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to speak on the matter confirmed this. 

Asked if a venue had been chosen, the source said: “No decision yet.”

The committee had earlier heard from the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack; Director-General of the Budget Office, Tanimu Yakubu; Director of Banking Services at the CBN, Hamisu Abdullahi; and representatives of the Inspector-General of Police. 

Their testimonies reportedly raised questions about how Adeyemi presented himself as head of PFIPC and gained access within government circles.

Through his lawyer, Ademola Oyedokun, Adeyemi said on Wednesday that he was willing to appear publicly but rejected a plan to question him at an undisclosed location while in detention.

“We have read that the committee intends to interview our client at an undisclosed date and place. We ask it, respectfully, to think again. Everyone else in this matter has been heard in public, and what has been said about our client was said in public. He should be allowed to answer in the same place it was said,” Oyedokun stated.

Gagdi said the committee would announce the venue later, adding that the arrangement was to avoid interfering with ongoing investigations by the Police, EFCC and ICPC.

 
The Coalition of United Political Parties has rejected the ICPC report on the PFIPC scandal, calling it inadequate and demanding a broader, transparent investigation.

CUPP spokesperson, Agu Bryan, said the report, which reportedly cleared the Presidency and indicted Adeyemi, failed to explain how a supposedly non-existent agency operated at such a high level and got into the national budget.

“The ICPC probe of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council which exonerated the Presidency and indicted Adeniyi Adeyemi is nothing short of a charade,” Bryan said.

He argued that Adeyemi could not have run an operation of that scale alone and called for scrutiny of institutions mentioned in his correspondence, including the OSGF, CBN and Office of the Head of Service.

Bryan also cited Walson-Jack’s testimony that her office did not conduct due diligence on some documents linked to the council.

He further questioned how hundreds of staff were allegedly recruited and how PFIPC gained access to official activities. He also raised concerns after investigators said a signature attributed to Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila was forged.

“It is commendable that the House and the Police have established that the signature of the Chief of Staff to the President was allegedly forged. But that raises another critical question: how many other documents, official correspondences and signatures allegedly used by Adeyemi were also forged?” Bryan asked.

The coalition said Adeyemi should be given a fair hearing before the Gagdi-led committee, and called for independent bodies such as the NBA or international investigators to be involved if the government wants a credible outcome.

  
A family source said Adeyemi told the committee he would only speak if journalists and his lawyers were present. 

“They eventually rescheduled to Monday and my brother told them that when they are coming, they should come with the media, otherwise he will not grant them audience,” the source said.

Adeyemi’s brother, Peter, also alleged that the committee attempted to question him in custody without his lawyers.

“The Reps committee came and wanted to interrogate him, but he refused. They are still there trying to make him talk without any of his lawyers being present,” he said.

Police spokesperson, Ani Ineidu, said visitors would be allowed access if they met the necessary requirements.

The committee is investigating allegations of impersonation, forgery, financial impropriety and the unlawful use of government facilities and official insignia linked to PFIPC.