ABUJA, July 7– Nigerian President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday ordered the country’s anti-corruption agency to launch a comprehensive investigation into the activities of the “Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council” (PFIPC), a fictitious body that was recently discovered to have been operating as a federal government agency.
In a statement, Tinubu directed the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to conclude the investigation and submit a comprehensive report within 30 days.
The directive followed the discovery that the so-called PFIPC was never established by the Nigerian federal government and had no basis under any law, presidential instrument, executive approval or other lawful government authorization.
According to the statement, a Nigerian citizen identified as Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew falsely presented himself as the director-general of the purported agency and claimed to be a presidential appointee.
The ICPC has been directed to investigate allegedly forged appointment letters and other official government documents, the use of a false claim of presidential appointment to obtain official recognition and diplomatic support, including visa facilitation, and the opening of multiple bank accounts in the names of purported government agencies using allegedly forged documents.
Tinubu also instructed the anti-corruption agency to investigate not only the activities of the principal suspect and his collaborators, but also the broader circumstances that allowed the fictitious body and the false claim of presidential appointment to gain an appearance of official legitimacy.
The investigation will further identify institutional and procedural weaknesses that may have been exploited and recommend measures to prevent similar abuses in the future.
According to local media reports, the fictitious agency had secured office space within the federal secretariat in Abuja, the Nigerian capital, and operated bank accounts with the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The presidency said investigators will also examine the origin and use of forged official documents, the process through which official recognition or diplomatic support may have been sought or obtained, the operation of related bank accounts, and the source and movement of any funds involved.
Any public officials, private individuals or financial institutions found culpable will be dealt with in accordance with the law, the statement added. (Namibia Daily News / Xinhua)
