The Federal Government was aware as far back as November 2025 that the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) and its self-styled Director-General, Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, were not recognised government entities, the House of Representatives ad hoc committee investigating the agency heard on Tuesday.
Appearing before the panel, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Dunoma Umar Ahmed, disclosed that the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), headed by Nuhu Ribadu formally informed the ministry that both the agency and its alleged Director-General were unknown to the Federal Government.
According to him, the ministry sought clarification from the ONSA after noticing discrepancies in requests submitted by Adeyemi seeking official backing to organise an international investment summit.
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He explained that Adeyemi approached the ministry on three occasions—June 26, 2025, August 5, 2025 and June 5, 2026—requesting the ministry’s collaboration and endorsement to host the World Investment Summit in Nigeria.
However, the ministry declined the requests pending verification of the agency’s status.
“Having discovered discrepancies in the requests submitted by Prince Adeyemi, the ministry, on October 16, 2025, wrote to the Office of the National Security Adviser requesting clarification on his status as Director-General of the PFIPC,” Ahmed told lawmakers.
He said the ONSA responded on November 26, 2025, stating that inquiries made to both the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF) and the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President confirmed that Adeyemi was unknown to any office of the Federal Government.
“In response, the ONSA wrote back to the ministry on November 26, 2025, indicating that the responses it received from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President revealed that Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew was unknown to any office of the Federal Government,” he said.
Ahmed further told the committee that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs never collaborated with the PFIPC, participated in any of its activities or facilitated any diplomatic engagements on its behalf.
He said the ministry did not receive any foreign investors or delegations on behalf of the council and had no record of any Memorandum of Understanding or agreement signed by the agency with any foreign government.
According to him, Nigerian missions abroad also had no dealings with the PFIPC because no directive was ever issued by the ministry recognising the agency.
“The ministry has never had any official interaction or engagement with the PFIPC or its alleged Director-General,” he said.
He added that following the ONSA’s response, the ministry completely refused to engage with the organisation.
Reacting to the testimony, chairman of the House ad hoc committee, Yusuf Gagdi, expressed concern that despite the ONSA determining in November 2025 that the PFIPC was not a legitimate government agency, the organisation continued to operate publicly.
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Gagdi questioned what action security agencies took after making that discovery, stressing that the committee would determine whether appropriate steps were taken to stop the alleged fake agency from operating.
The latest revelations add another layer to the widening PFIPC scandal, which has already seen the Central Bank of Nigeria confirm it opened foreign currency accounts for the agency, while the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) is investigating allegations surrounding its operations and the circumstances under which it secured official recognition and budgetary allocations despite questions over its legal status.
