Atiku Abubakar gives President Bola Tinubu seven days to order an independent probe into the alleged PFIPC controversy and related fraud claims.
President Bola Tinubu has directed the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate the activities of the alleged Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), ordering the anti-graft agency to submit a comprehensive report within 30 days.
The directive follows the discovery of the purported council, which the Presidency says was never established by the Federal Government and has no legal backing, presidential approval or executive instrument.
In a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, the President directs the ICPC to investigate the alleged use of forged appointment letters and official government documents by Mr. Adeniyi Adeyemi Mathew, who presented himself as Director-General of the council and claimed to be a presidential appointee.
The investigation will also examine allegations that the suspect used the purported appointment to seek official recognition and diplomatic support, including visa facilitation, and opened multiple bank accounts in the names of government agencies using allegedly forged documents.
President Tinubu further directed the commission to investigate how the alleged fictitious council gained an appearance of legitimacy, including the source and use of forged government documents, the movement of funds, and the role of any public officials, financial institutions or private individuals who may have facilitated the scheme.
The President also ordered the ICPC to identify weaknesses in government procedures that may have been exploited and recommend measures to prevent similar incidents.
He directed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the Federal Government to cooperate fully with the commission by providing all relevant records and information needed to complete the investigation within the stipulated period.
President Tinubu stressed that the integrity of the Presidency and government institutions must be protected against impersonation, forgery and abuse of official identity, warning that anyone found culpable would face the full weight of the law.
The directive comes amid growing public concern over the alleged council, which reportedly operated from the Federal Secretariat, maintained bank accounts, engaged diplomatic missions and appeared in the 2026 Appropriation Act with a budgetary allocation despite the Presidency’s insistence that the body does not exist.
Meanwhile, the Senate says it cannot investigate the controversy unless a formal petition is submitted, maintaining that the matter is already before the court.
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Publicity, Senator Yemi Adaramodu, said the National Assembly neither created the alleged agency nor appointed its leadership, adding that any legislative action would depend on the submission of a petition by an interested party.
Mr. Adeyemi, who claims to be the Director-General of the alleged council, is currently standing trial before the Federal High Court in Abuja on charges bordering on conspiracy, forgery and impersonation.
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