The Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF), Shamseldeen Ogunjimi, has disclosed that a forged letter purportedly issued by the State House, Nigeria’s seat of power, misled government authorities into granting official administrative recognition to the alleged Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC).
Mr Ogunjimi made the revelation on Monday while appearing before the House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee investigating the creation and activities of the controversial organisation.
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According to the AGF, his office approved an administrative code for the council after receiving what appeared to be an authentic communication from the State House, only for subsequent investigations to reveal that the State House had never issued the document.
His testimony formed part of the committee’s ongoing investigation into how the alleged agency, despite lacking any legal basis, secured office accommodation within the Federal Secretariat, Abuja, sought public funding, recruited personnel and obtained official government recognition through documents suspected to have been forged.
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Treasury acted on presidential correspondence
Giving an account of the events, Mr Ogunjimi said the Treasury first received correspondence relating to the organisation in November 2024.
He explained that a letter dated 7 November 2024, bearing a State House reference number, requested the creation of an administrative code for the Presidential Economic Advisory Council to facilitate budgeting, accounting and financial reporting.
Following standard administrative procedures, the Office of the Accountant-General approved the request, created the code and communicated its decision to the State House, with a copy forwarded to the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation (OAuGF)
After the approval, the office received several additional requests from the purported council, including applications for self-accounting status, the deployment of personnel, the opening of Treasury Single Account and domiciliary accounts, as well as funding approval requests.
Despite processing some of these administrative requests, Mr Ogunjimi stressed that no government funds were released to the organisation.
“It is important to note that no funds were released under salaries, overhead, capital, or any form of intervention or special allocation to the council,” he told lawmakers.
He also disclosed that the council applied for an establishment grant of ₦27.4 billion, but the request was rejected because there was no budgetary provision for such expenditure.
According to him, although the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) opened two domiciliary accounts for the organisation to receive inflows, the accounts never became operational because the necessary regulatory requirements for activation were not fulfilled.
Forged document uncovered
Lawmakers questioned how the purported agency successfully navigated several layers of government bureaucracy without attracting suspicion.
Responding, Mr Ogunjimi revealed that the Treasury had acted on a document it believed originated from the Presidency.
“The letter that was received by the Treasury was respectfully addressed as coming from the State House,” he said. “That letter was never issued by the State House.”
The disclosure reinforced the committee’s suspicion that forged presidential correspondence had been used to deceive public institutions into processing official requests for an agency that had no legal existence.
Civil servants unknowingly remained with council
The committee also examined how civil servants originally posted to the Office of the Chief Economic Adviser to the President later became attached to the purported council.
Mr Ogunjimi explained that two officers deployed to the Office of the Chief Economic Adviser in 2010 and 2013 remained in the office after the new organisation allegedly took it over.
He said the Office of the Accountant-General was never formally informed that the officers had been transferred to another entity.
“It was never assumed or written to us that those two officers were being taken over.
“The staff also never reported to the office to say that another council had taken over the office and the name had changed.
“As far as I was concerned, we were dealing with a new agency, not the Office of the Chief Economic Adviser,” he said.
He further disclosed that the purported council later sought the deployment of five additional personnel, but the Treasury approved only three after concluding that the organisation did not require the larger number requested.
“It was when all this matter came to light that I got to know that two of our staff were actually working or being absorbed by the agency.
“We never knew. We believed, based on the records available to us, that those officers were still with the Office of the Chief Economic Adviser,” he added.
READ ALSO: Fake Agency Probe: Reps panel gives police 48-hour ultimatum to produce alleged PFIPC DG
Investigation continues
The House committee is investigating allegations that forged presidential approvals, counterfeit State House correspondence, fake Acts of the National Assembly and other falsified government documents were used to establish and operate both the purported Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council and the Presidential Economic Advisory Council.
The panel has already received evidence from the Nigeria Police Force confirming that criminal charges bordering on conspiracy and fraud have been filed against the prime suspect, Adeyemi Adeniyi, before the Federal High Court.
During Monday’s proceedings, the committee also directed the Inspector-General of Police to produce Mr Adeniyi before lawmakers by noon on Wednesday to answer questions relating to the alleged forgery of official government documents and the operations of the purported agency.
The committee is expected to conclude its investigation with recommendations on possible administrative, legislative and criminal measures against individuals found culpable.
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