By Peter Salami
The Accountant General of the Federation (AGF), Shamseldeen Ogunjimi, on Monday disclosed that a forged letter purportedly issued by the State House, Nigeria’s seat of power, misled government authorities into granting official administrative recognition to the alleged Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC).
Mr Ogunjimi made the revelation while appearing before the House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee investigating the creation and activities of the controversial agency.
According to the AGF, his office approved an administrative code for the council after receiving what appeared to be an authentic communication from the State House, only for subsequent investigations to reveal that the State House had never issued the document.
His testimony formed part of the committee’s ongoing investigation into how the alleged agency, despite lacking any legal basis, secured office accommodation within the Federal Secretariat, Abuja, sought public funding, recruited personnel and obtained official government recognition through documents suspected to have been forged.
Giving an account of the events, Mr Ogunjimi said the Treasury first received correspondence relating to the organisation in November 2024.
He explained that a letter dated 7 November 2024, bearing a State House reference number, requested the creation of an administrative code for the Presidential Economic Advisory Council to facilitate budgeting, accounting and financial reporting.
Following standard administrative procedures, the Office of the Accountant-General approved the request, created the code and communicated its decision to the State House, with a copy forwarded to the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation (OAuGF).
After the approval, the office received several additional requests from the purported council, including applications for self-accounting status, the deployment of personnel, the opening of Treasury Single Account and domiciliary accounts, as well as funding approval requests.
Despite processing some of these administrative requests, Mr Ogunjimi stressed that no government funds were released to the organisation.
“It is important to note that no funds were released under salaries, overhead, capital, or any form of intervention or special allocation to the council,” he told lawmakers.
He also disclosed that the council applied for an establishment grant of N27.4 billion, but the request was rejected because there was no budgetary provision for such expenditure.
According to him, although the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) opened two domiciliary accounts for the organisation to receive inflows, the accounts never became operational because the necessary regulatory requirements for activation were not fulfilled.
Forged document uncovered
Lawmakers questioned how the purported agency successfully navigated several layers of government bureaucracy without attracting suspicion.
Responding, Mr Ogunjimi revealed that the Treasury had acted on a document it believed originated from the Presidency.
“The letter that was received by the Treasury was respectfully addressed as coming from the State House,” he said. “That letter was never issued by the State House.”
The disclosure reinforced the committee’s suspicion that forged presidential correspondence had been used to deceive public institutions into processing official requests for an agency that had no legal existence.
The committee also examined how civil servants originally posted to the Office of the Chief Economic Adviser to the President later became attached to the purported council.
Mr Ogunjimi explained that two officers deployed to the Office of the Chief Economic Adviser in 2010 and 2013 remained in the office after the new organisation allegedly took it over.
He said the Office of the Accountant General was never formally informed that the officers had been transferred to another entity.
“It was never assumed or written to us that those two officers were being taken over.
“The staff also never reported to the office to say that another council had taken over the office and the name had changed.
“As far as I was concerned, we were dealing with a new agency, not the Office of the Chief Economic Adviser,” he said.
He further disclosed that the purported council later sought the deployment of five additional personnel, but the Treasury approved only three after concluding that the organisation did not require the larger number requested.
“It was when all this matter came to light that I got to know that two of our staff were actually working or being absorbed by the agency.
“We never knew. We believed, based on the records available to us, that those officers were still with the Office of the Chief Economic Adviser,” he added.
The House committee is investigating allegations that forged presidential approvals, counterfeit State House correspondence, fake Acts of the National Assembly and other falsified government documents were used to establish and operate both the purported Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council and the Presidential Economic Advisory Council.
The panel has already received evidence from the Nigeria Police Force confirming that criminal charges bordering on conspiracy and fraud have been filed against the prime suspect, Adeyemi Adeniyi, before the Federal High Court.
During Monday’s proceedings, the committee also directed the Inspector-General of Police to produce Mr Adeniyi before lawmakers by noon on Wednesday to answer questions relating to the alleged forgery of official government documents and the operations of the purported agency.
The committee is expected to conclude its investigation with recommendations on possible administrative, legislative and criminal measures against individuals found culpable.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives Committee investigating the alleged operation of a fake presidential agency on Monday ordered the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disun (IGP), to produce the alleged mastermind, Mr Adeyemi Martin, before it on Wednesday by 12 noon.
The committee issued the directive after the Nigeria Police Force confirmed key aspects of its ongoing criminal investigation, including petitions from the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President alleging that Adeyemi fraudulently presented himself as the director-general of the purported Presidential Economic Advisory Council and the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council.
Chairman of the committee, Rep Yusuf Gagdi, ruled that Adeyemi’s appearance had become necessary because of the gravity of the allegations and their implications for individuals and government institutions.
“This committee clearly needs the suspected DG to appear before this committee,” Gagdi said.
“People’s names are involved. People’s integrity is involved. Institutional names are involved. Institutional integrity is involved.”
He added: “It is not an option now. We will need him here to confirm some documents to us in such a way that will not undermine our investigation to enable us to submit our report on time.”
The committee thereafter directed its clerk to formally write to the Inspector-General of Police.
“The committee hereby resolves that the Inspector-General of Police of the Federal Republic of Nigeria… kindly present Mr Adeyemi Martin on Wednesday by 12 noon. That is the ruling of the committee,” Gagdi declared.
Earlier, an assistant commissioner of police, Basir Abdullahi, who represented the Inspector General of Police, informed lawmakers that while criminal investigations were still ongoing, the police had already filed an eight-count charge before the Federal High Court against the suspect.
“The Nigerian Police Force investigated part of this case late last year and filed eight-count charges before a Federal High Court. The case is ongoing,” the officer said.
He added that the suspect had been arrested and arraigned, warning that disclosing further details could prejudice ongoing investigations and judicial proceedings.
“We don’t want to say things that are under investigation. It is definitely going to prejudice the ongoing investigation and make people have opinions that may prejudge the outcome of an investigation or judicial decision,” he stated.
Despite the caution, the committee sought confirmation of documentary evidence already in its possession.
The police confirmed that on October 17, 2025, the chief of staff to the president petitioned security agencies over allegations against Adeyemi, leading to investigations that culminated in criminal charges bordering on conspiracy and fraud.
The police also confirmed receiving another petition alleging that Adeyemi falsely paraded himself as the director-general of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council and the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council.
According to the police, the petition further alleged that the suspect used the purported office to secure accommodation at the Federal Secretariat, sought approval to recruit about 300 staff, attempted to insert about $1.3 billion into the 2026 Appropriation Act for the non-existent agency and planned a World Investment Summit under the platform of the purported council.
One of the major moments during the hearing came when the committee compared signatures on documents allegedly issued by the Office of the Chief of Staff to the president with signatures on authentic correspondence obtained from the police.
Asked whether the signatures matched, the police witness responded unequivocally: “They are not the same.”
The committee chairman said the discrepancy reinforced concerns that official State House documents may have been forged.
“So, it is not only a letter that was suspected to be forged,” Umoh said.
“We are dealing with documents that include what is said to be a forged Act of the National Assembly in an attempt to establish a fake agency.”
He disclosed that investigators had so far identified about 29 allegedly forged documents, including purported approvals from the State House, the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Ministry of Finance and other government institutions.
According to him, several of the affected agencies had already appeared before the committee and disowned the documents attributed to them.
The chairman, however, stressed that the committee deliberately avoided compelling the police to disclose details capable of undermining ongoing criminal investigations.
“We are avoiding a situation whereby they will be pushed… to make statements that will undermine their ongoing investigation,” he said.
He assured that the House investigation would proceed independently and that its final report could recommend further action by security agencies.
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