PFIPC’s Adeyemi seeks clearance to testify before reps panel

Adeniyi Adeyemi, director-general of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), has appealed to the house of representatives for administrative clearance that would enable him to testify before the lower chamber’s investigative panel.

In a statement issued on Sunday through his legal team, Adeyemi, who remains in custody, argued that any report on the PFIPC controversy produced without hearing his side would be “fundamentally flawed”.

His legal team is headed by lawyer Festus Akhigbe.

The request comes after several federal government officials appeared before the house of representatives ad hoc committee last week over the PFIPC controversy and the N1.3 billion appropriated to the council in the 2026 budget.

At the committee’s session on Wednesday, Tunji Disu, inspector-general of Police (IGP), declined to present Adeyemi before lawmakers, explaining that he is being detained based on a court order.

The committee had earlier directed the IGP to ensure Adeyemi’s appearance at the hearing.

‘IT’S IMPOSSIBLE FOR A SINGLE CITIZEN TO MISLEAD MULTIPLE FG AGENCIES’

According to the statement, Adeyemi’s legal team said their client is being portrayed as an “isolated, master-mind impostor who single-handedly fabricated a federal government agency”.

The lawyers maintained that the administrative records linked to the PFIPC present a different account from the narrative currently in the public domain.

They also urged the house of representatives to investigate the “undisputed institutional actions that created and validated” the PFIPC.

“The Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF): Formally acknowledged documentation and facilitated official office allocations within the Federal Secretariat Complex,” the statement reads.

“If these documents were crude forgeries, how did the central administrative engine of the Federal Government act upon them?

“The Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) & Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN): Acted on official documentation to issue administrative budget codes, grant self-accounting status, post federal civil service staff to the council, and officially open operational accounts.

“The Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF): Formally approved the establishment structure and granted recruitment waivers that enabled the onboarding of three hundred and fourteen (314) personnel.

“The Budget Office of the Federation & National Assembly: Processed and vetted documentation leading to the formal insertion of a ₦1.302 billion allocation in the 2026 Appropriation Act, passed by both chambers of the National Assembly and signed into law by the President.

“Security Agencies & Anti-Graft Bodies: Heads of major security agencies attended programs organized by the council. Furthermore, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) allocated a property to the council, requested a ₦300 million processing consideration, and its leadership presented a plaque of recognition to the council’s leadership.”

The legal team said it is an “administrative impossibility for an unassisted individual” to mislead multiple agencies of the federal government.

The legal team alleged that their client is “being made a scapegoat to cover up deep-seated institutional lapses, procedural breakdowns, and internal approvals within the government structure”.

“In light of the ongoing proceedings by the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee chaired by Hon. Yusuf Gagdi, we formally request that the panel issue the necessary administrative clearance to allow our client, Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, to appear in person and testify,” the statement reads.

“Any investigative outcome or final legislative report produced without affording our client a direct hearing would be fundamentally flawed, incomplete, and a breach of the constitutional right to a fair hearing (audi alteram partem).

“To reach a definitive conclusion, the committee must examine not only institutional witnesses but also the primary subject at the center of this controversy.”