ICPC: Fake PFIPC DG’s appointment letter didn’t originate from presidency

By Adebola Isimijola, Lagos

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) on Thursday declared that the appointment letter presented by Mr. Adeniyi Adeyemi Mathew as Director-General of the purported Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) was forged and did not originate from the Presidency.

The disclosure came in Abuja as ICPC Chairman, Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu (SAN), presented the Commission’s interim findings to journalists after briefing President Bola Tinubu on the outcome of the 30-day investigation ordered by the President on July 7, 2026.

Aliyu said the investigation established that Adeyemi was never appointed by the Federal Government or any of its agencies and that the PFIPC had no legal backing, having never been created by any law, Executive Order or other valid government instrument.

“It has been established that Adeniyi Adeyemi Mathew was never appointed by the Federal Government or any authority of the government. The PFIPC was never established by any law or executive order or other valid instrument of government,” he said.

According to the ICPC chairman, the appointment letter used by Adeyemi, alongside other official documents deployed in the operation of the fake agency, was completely forged.

“The fake appointment letter of Adeniyi Adeyemi Mathew did not originate from the Presidency,” Aliyu stated.

He further disclosed that the fake PFIPC illegally appropriated the identity and operational instruments of the former Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC), while its promoter allegedly engaged in false representation, impersonation and other unlawful activities.

The Commission also uncovered two additional fictitious agencies allegedly created by Adeyemi—the FCT Investment Promotion Agency (FIFA) and the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency and Public Private Partnership (FIFA-PPP). According to Aliyu, forged legislative instruments presented as enabling Acts were used to facilitate the opening of bank accounts for the entities.

The ICPC chairman, however, said investigations showed that no Federal Government funds were approved or disbursed to the fake PFIPC or the former PEAC, stressing that no weaknesses were found in the systems of the State House or the Central Bank of Nigeria.

He, however, noted that lapses in verification, inter-agency oversight and acts of negligence and connivance by some public officers were exploited by the suspect to perpetrate the alleged fraud.

Aliyu said the Commission had recommended the full prosecution of Adeyemi, administrative sanctions against public officers whose omissions aided the illegal operation of the fake agency, and institutional reforms to prevent a recurrence.

He added that investigations into the activities of the fake PFIPC, the bank accounts linked to Adeyemi and those of his collaborators were still ongoing.