Fake Agency Scandal: ICPC names top civil servants who allegedly aided Adeyemi, collected money

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has uncovered how some civil servants allegedly helped Adeniyi Adeyemi, the director-general of the now-disowned Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), to obtain government approvals and gain access to official financial and administrative systems.

The findings are contained in the ICPC interim investigation report on the PFIPC saga. The investigation was ordered by President Bola Tinubu after the presidency disowned the organisation and Mr Adeyemi.

The investigation shows that the purported agency’s ability to penetrate government structures went beyond the forged documents allegedly presented by Mr Adeyemi. It also depended on the actions of officials in several government institutions who processed its requests and facilitated approvals despite gaps in the required procedures.

According to the ICPC, Mr Adeyemi began seeking formal recognition within government structures in November 2024 when he approached the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) for an administrative code, self-accounting status and approval to open accounts with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

He supported the applications with purported official documents, including an appointment letter, an establishment instrument, and a letter on State House letterhead allegedly signed by one Akanbi Adewale.

Investigators found that Akanbi Adewale did not exist. Forensic examination also showed that the letter attributed to him was signed by Mr Adeyemi.

Despite these irregularities, the documents were used to process the applications.

On 27 May 2025, the OAGF granted the organisation self-accounting status and assigned it the administrative code 0111062001, alongside authorised establishment and recruitment waiver arrangements.

The approvals enabled the purported PFIPC to secure a place in the 2026 federal budget and gain access to government financial systems.

The OAGF subsequently created a Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS) platform and a Sub-Treasury Account for the organisation.

Acting on a request from the PFIPC, the OAGF also issued a mandate to the CBN for the creation of two domiciliary accounts.

The CBN later told the House of Representatives that the accounts were never activated because the purported agency failed to provide authorised signatories.

PREMIUM TIMES previously reported how Mr Adeyemi’s purported agency penetrated several layers of government despite having no legal basis for its existence. Correspondence from the organisation was treated as genuine by government institutions, helping it secure an office at the Federal Secretariat, budgetary recognition and access to government financial systems.

Civil servants facilitated a recruitment waiver

The ICPC investigation examined the roles of three civil servants in securing an authorised establishment and recruitment waiver for the PFIPC. They are Rose Achem, senior administrative officer to the director-general of the Budget Office of the Federation; Patricia Akhigbe, an assistant director in the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning; and Mimi Abu, director of organisation design and development at the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF).

According to the ICPC, Ms Achem introduced Ms Akhigbe to Ms Abu as the head of human resources of the PFIPC, even though Ms Akhigbe was an assistant director in the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning.

Investigators said the introduction was made to facilitate the purported council’s application for authorised establishment and recruitment waiver.

The ICPC found that Ms Achem, Ms Akhigbe and Ms Abu subsequently facilitated the approvals through the OHCSF.

The investigation also found that Mr Adeyemi paid Ms Akhigbe N500,000 during Easter in 2025. The payment was described in the evidence as a “thank you for your support.”

The authorised establishment was granted on the same day the three officials met, according to the ICPC.

Investigators found no evidence that the PFIPC had formally applied for an authorised establishment and recruitment waiver. Instead, Ms Abu, Ms Achem and Ms Akhigbe proceeded with the approvals outside the required process.

When investigators requested the relevant file from the OHCSF, the office reportedly said it was missing.

Forged documents presented to civil service officials

The ICPC examined Ms Abu’s role because her department is responsible for authorised establishment, manpower requirements and recruitment waivers for federal government organisations.

The commission said Ms Abu oversees four units responsible for establishment and workforce planning, organisation design, job design and development, and rules and regulations.

Under the standard procedure, newly established government organisations seeking authorisation are expected to submit documents showing their mandate and establishment instruments, as well as the appointment letter of the head of the organisation.

The investigation found that Ms Achem and Ms Akhigbe met Ms Abu on behalf of the PFIPC and presented what investigators described as forged establishment instruments and a forged appointment letter for Mr Adeyemi.

Ms Abu reportedly described the controversial appointment letter, said to have been issued by the Chief of Staff to the President, as an “aberration”. She told investigators she could not recall another government organisation presenting an appointment letter signed by the Chief of Staff.

When the PFIPC could not upload the required documents through the OHCSF portal, its representatives submitted physical copies of the controversial appointment letter and the organisation’s purported enabling instruments.

The ICPC also found that although the PFIPC requested the deployment of staff in a letter dated 9 May 2025, the OHCSF neither approved nor effected any deployment. Evidence from the Enterprise Content Management System showed that no officers were deployed to the PFIPC by the OHCSF.

How Adeyemi got an office at Federal Secretariat

The ICPC also examined the role of Aminu Abdullahi, the official responsible for office allocation within the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF).

Mr Abdullahi was responsible for coordinating the allocation of offices to political appointees within the OSGF. Requests for office allocation are submitted to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, processed through the Permanent Secretary, General Services Office, and subsequently referred to the Director, General Services, for necessary action.

According to the investigation, Mr Abdullahi was introduced to Mr Adeyemi in March 2025 by Ibrahim Abdulkadir, a deputy director in General Services.

The introduction was intended to guide Mr Adeyemi through the process of obtaining office accommodation at the Federal Secretariat after a request made on behalf of the PFIPC to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had not produced the expected result.

The ICPC found that Mr Abdullahi allocated offices previously occupied by the former Chief Economic Adviser to the President, Doyin Salami, at the Federal Secretariat Phase III for temporary use by the PFIPC without written approval.

Only two keys were available for the allocated offices. The investigation found that Mr Abdullahi broke the locks on the remaining doors to give Mr Adeyemi access to the other office spaces.

The financial trail also raised questions.

An analysis of Mr Abdullahi’s bank statement showed that he received N3.25 million from Mr Adeyemi in three tranches between March and November 2025, according to the ICPC.

PREMIUM TIMES had previously reported that Mr Adeyemi operated the purported agency from the second floor of the Federal Secretariat Complex in Abuja.

Records reviewed by this newspaper also showed that the OSGF and OAGF processed requests from the organisation as though it were a legitimate government institution.

Another fake agency uncovered

The discovery of the alleged PFIPC also led investigators to uncover another suspected fake agency, the National Brands Development and Made in Nigeria Special Project Office, which allegedly operated within the OSGF.

On Friday, President Bola Tinubu ordered the suspension of three permanent secretaries and the arrest of the agency’s alleged promoter, George Buchi Nwabueze.

ICPC Chairman Musa Aliyu said investigators also found that Mr Nwabueze operated under several variations of his name and that there were suspected collaborators within the OSGF.

The commission said forged legislative instruments were allegedly used to give the entities an appearance of legitimacy and facilitate the opening of bank accounts in their names.

The emergence of another purported agency within a federal government office has expanded the scandal beyond the PFIPC and raised fresh questions about weaknesses in the verification and oversight mechanisms that allow individuals and organisations to present themselves as legitimate government entities.

Weak verification systems enabled fake agencies

The ICPC investigation identified weaknesses in existing civil service procedures that enabled the purported organisation to obtain official approvals.

The commission said the OHCSF’s standard operating procedure did not adequately require newly established federal institutions to submit relevant establishment documents. It also found insufficient mechanisms for vetting and verifying documents presented by such organisations.

READ ALSO: Adeyemi’s lawyers detail roles of key federal agencies validating fake PFIPC

The self-accounting status granted by the OAGF was particularly significant because it enabled the purported council to operate within government financial reporting structures and became an important document in its dealings with other government institutions, according to the ICPC.

The findings provide a clearer picture of how Mr Adeyemi’s purported agency moved from one government institution to another, securing official responses and administrative recognition despite the absence of a legal basis for its establishment.

PREMIUM TIMES previously reported that the purported agency secured office accommodation at the Federal Secretariat, obtained access to CBN accounts and interacted with government officials who believed they were dealing with a legitimate federal institution.

The newspaper also reported that the agency was listed in the 2026 Appropriation Act with a N1.3 billion allocation, although Mr Adeyemi later denied preparing the budget.

Mr Adeyemi has denied wrongdoing and maintained that his appointment was legitimate. He is facing an eight-count charge bordering on forgery, impersonation and related offences.

The presidency has maintained that neither the PFIPC nor Mr Adeyemi received official recognition under the Tinubu administration.

The ICPC recommended administrative action against Ms Abu, Ms Achem, Ms Akhigbe and Mr Abdullahi.