Reps panel says Tinubu, Wike, Akume, Cardoso listed as PFIPC board members

The House of Representatives ad hoc committee investigating the activities of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) has disclosed that several top government officials were listed as members of the council’s governing board, raising fresh concerns over the organisation’s claims of legitimacy.

Speaking during the committee’s investigative hearing on Thursday, Chairman Yusuf Gagdi questioned the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) over its decision to approve seven official vehicle number plates for the PFIPC despite what lawmakers described as obvious irregularities in the documents submitted by the organisation.

According to Gagdi, the governing board presented by the PFIPC included President Bola Tinubu, Secretary to the Government of the Federation George Akume, Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Attorney-General of the Federation, and several ministers, including those overseeing finance, aviation, agriculture and food security, interior, budget and national planning, marine and blue economy, police affairs, transport, works, and power.

The committee chairman argued that the FRSC ought to have questioned the authenticity of documents that listed the President and other senior government officials as members of the council’s board before granting its request.

He also noted that the documents submitted by the organisation lacked official government security features, yet were accepted during the verification process.

Gagdi explained that the investigation is aimed at identifying weaknesses within government institutions to prevent similar incidents in the future rather than assigning blame.

He maintained that the unusual composition of the purported board and the nature of the supporting documents should have prompted the FRSC to independently verify the claims with the Presidency and other relevant government agencies.

Responding to lawmakers, FRSC Corps Marshal Shehu Mohammed defended the agency’s actions, saying the application was processed in line with established procedures.

Mohammed told the committee that the FRSC received the council’s application on April 4, 2025, followed by a reminder dated April 11, both signed by Prince Adeyemi Adeniyi. The application, he said, included documents outlining the council’s mandate, governing structure, and details of the vehicles for which official number plates were requested.

He added that officials also reviewed the organisation’s website, which used a federal government domain name, and visited its office located within the Federal Secretariat Complex in Abuja. These factors, alongside verification of the vehicles’ chassis numbers, convinced officials that the organisation was a legitimate government entity.

Mohammed said the FRSC only later discovered that the PFIPC was not an authorised federal government agency. He disclosed that the corps has begun retrieving all official number plates issued to the organisation and has strengthened its verification procedures to prevent similar occurrences.

The development comes after the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) recommended the prosecution of Prince Adeyemi Adeniyi, who is accused of operating the PFIPC without legal backing.

Adeyemi had claimed that President Tinubu’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, appointed him to the position, an assertion Gbajabiamila has publicly denied.

While clearing the Presidency and the Central Bank of Nigeria of any wrongdoing, the ICPC identified administrative lapses across several ministries, departments and agencies, including the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, the Budget Office, and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).