The House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee investigating the alleged establishment and operations of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council, PFIPC, has summoned the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the National Security Adviser, NSA, to explain how the controversial organisation allegedly operated despite questions over its legal status.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had earlier claimed that it had no official relationship with the PFIPC and had, in fact, alerted the Office of the National Security Adviser after detecting irregularities in the council’s activities.
Appearing before the committee on Tuesday, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dunoma Ahmed, presented a memorandum detailing the ministry’s interactions with Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, who presented himself as the Director-General of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council/Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council.
Ahmed disclosed that Adeyemi approached the ministry on three separate occasions—June 26, 2025, August 5, 2025, and June 5, 2026—requesting the ministry’s endorsement and collaboration to organise a World Investment Summit in Nigeria.
Also Reead: Gbajabiamila appears at ICPC over PFIPC probe
However, the ministry said none of the requests received official approval.
According to the memorandum, officials declined to act on the requests after conducting preliminary checks and noticing several inconsistencies in the documents submitted by Adeyemi.
The ministry stated that the decision was also influenced by the need to comply with due diligence procedures and ongoing concerns surrounding the legitimacy of both the PFIPC and its purported Director-General.
“Guided by extant rules and regulations, as well as the necessity of carrying out due diligence before obliging any request, the Ministry did not take any action on the requests,” the memorandum stated.
The Permanent Secretary further informed lawmakers that the ministry formally wrote to the Office of the National Security Adviser on October 16, 2025, seeking clarification on Adeyemi’s status.
According to the ministry, the NSA responded on November 26, 2025, after making enquiries with both the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF) and the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President.
The response reportedly stated that Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Mathew was unknown to both government offices.
The ministry also stressed that it never participated in any diplomatic engagements, bilateral meetings or multilateral discussions organised by the PFIPC.
It maintained that neither the council nor its alleged Director-General had any official relationship with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
During the hearing, committee member Abubakar Hassan Fulata questioned why the ministry did not go a step further after receiving confirmation that the PFIPC lacked official government recognition.
Fulata asked why officials failed to notify Adeyemi directly that the organisation had no legal backing and should cease presenting itself as a government institution.
“After confirming from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and the Office of the Chief of Staff to Mr President that this entity does not exist legally, did you communicate to the so-called Director-General that this organisation is illegal and that you should not interact with it any further?” Fulata asked.
Responding to the concerns, the chairman of the committee acknowledged that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had acted appropriately by escalating the matter to the National Security Adviser.
However, he insisted that the next stage of the investigation would focus on the actions taken by the NSA after receiving the ministry’s report.
The committee subsequently summoned both the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the National Security Adviser to appear before lawmakers and explain how the alleged council continued to operate despite concerns raised over its legitimacy.
The House panel is investigating the legal status, operations, funding and activities of the PFIPC as part of a broader probe into the circumstances surrounding the alleged establishment of the organisation.
The NewsGuru
