EXPOSED: How SGF Processed Office Space Request For ‘Fake’ PFIPC Despite Presidency’s Denial
Official documents have raised fresh questions over the Presidency’s insistence that the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) never existed, revealing that the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) received, acknowledged and acted on official correspondence submitted in the agency’s name months before it was publicly disowned.
Documents show that the SGF’s office processed and forwarded a request by the council’s self-acclaimed Director-General, Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, seeking office accommodation from recovered Federal Government properties through the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The forwarding letter, dated November 21, 2024, was signed by the Permanent Secretary, General Services Office, Nnamdi Maurice Mbaeri, on behalf of the SGF.
Attached was Adeyemi’s November 7, 2024 letter requesting office accommodation for the PFIPC. Registry stamps indicate that the SGF’s office received the request on November 12 and forwarded it to the EFCC nine days later.
In the forwarding letter titled “Request for Office Accommodation,” the SGF informed the anti-graft agency that three government institutions had requested office accommodation from recovered Federal Government properties, specifically identifying PFIPC’s application by its reference number.
Adeyemi’s letter presented the PFIPC as a Federal Government agency established to attract foreign direct investment, coordinate investment-related activities across ministries and serve as a one-stop investment centre for investors.
He claimed the council liaised with Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), compiled investment data and promoted Nigeria as a preferred investment destination.
The documents emerged amid Adeyemi’s ongoing criminal prosecution over allegations that he operated a fictitious government agency, forged a presidential appointment letter purportedly signed by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, and falsely presented himself as Director-General of the PFIPC.
According to court documents, Adeyemi allegedly operated 34 bank accounts, including accounts opened in the names of purported government agencies, while conducting official engagements, including meetings with diplomats at Abuja’s Wells Carlton Hotel, under the PFIPC banner.
Despite the SGF correspondence, the Presidency has maintained that the PFIPC never existed.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga described the council as fictitious while outlining the criminal allegations against Adeyemi.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has listed Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila and 10 other witnesses in the criminal trial before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The eight-count charge accuses Adeyemi and two accomplices still at large of conspiracy, forgery, impersonation and operating a fictitious government agency between 2024 and 2025.
Prosecutors alleged that forged presidential documents bearing official insignia, seals and reference numbers were used to give legitimacy to the non-existent council.
An interim report by the Inspector-General of Police Monitoring Unit stated that the investigation began after a petition from the Office of the Chief of Staff, alleging that forged appointment letters were being issued in the Presidency’s name.
Investigators also alleged that Adeyemi wrote to several government institutions, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, requesting diplomatic assistance for visa processing for purported staff members. Police said he was arrested on October 27, 2025, during an operation in Suleja, Niger State, where investigators recovered alleged forged appointment letters, official letterheads and other incriminating documents.
A visit to the Federal Secretariat in Abuja found no office belonging to the PFIPC. Security personnel and civil servants told reporters they had never heard of the agency, while no signpost bearing its name was found.
Although the agency previously operated a website on the Federal Government domain, the site is no longer accessible.
The Presidency has since vowed to identify and prosecute internal collaborators who allegedly enabled Adeyemi’s activities, while investigators from the DSS, Police and EFCC continue probing the alleged fraud.
Human rights lawyer Femi Falana (SAN), however, has called for an independent investigation into the matter, urging the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to probe both the allegations against the agency and the claim that N24billion was budgeted for its operation.
