Gbajabiamila: SGF’s Office ‘Linked’ To Controversial Presidential Agency

Official documents obtained by Saturday Punch have raised fresh questions over the Presidency’s claim that the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council  (PFIPC) never existed.

The documents showed that the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) received, acknowledged and acted on correspondence submitted in the name of the council months before the Presidency publicly disowned it.

According to Punch, one of the documents showed that the SGF’s office processed and forwarded a request by the council’s self-styled Director-General, Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, seeking office accommodation from recovered Federal Government properties through the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

The correspondence, dated November 21, 2024, was signed by the Permanent Secretary, General Services Office, Nnamdi Maurice Mbaeri, on behalf of the SGF.

Registry stamps showed that Adeyemi’s letter, dated November 7, 2024, was received by the SGF’s office on November 12, and forwarded to the EFCC nine days later.

The forwarding letter, titled “Request for Office Accommodation,” stated, “I am directed to forward the attached copies of letters requesting allocation of office accommodation from the recovered Federal Government landed properties for further necessary action.”

In his letter to the SGF, Adeyemi described the PFIPC as a Federal Government investment promotion agency responsible for attracting foreign direct investment into Nigeria.

He claimed that the council “also serves as the resource and coordinating centre for the Nation’s Foreign Investment Promotion activities, a One-Stop-Shop for Investments centre coordinating investment-related activities across ministries, departments and agencies and promoting Nigeria as a preferred investment destination.”

The letter added that the council “facilitates the interaction between public and private sectors, and has an active role in policy advocacy and promotes a positive image of Nigeria as a country that is attractive to foreign investors.”

The documents surfaced amid the prosecution of Adeyemi, who is accused of operating a fictitious government agency, forging a presidential appointment letter allegedly signed by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, and falsely presenting himself as Director-General of the PFIPC.

He was also alleged to have operated 34 bank accounts, including some opened in the names of purported government agencies, and held official engagements under the banner of the council.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, maintained that the PFIPC was fictitious.

The statement, titled “Re: The Matter of Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew and the Fictitious Presidential Economic Advisory Council,” outlined the criminal case against Adeyemi, including a police investigation report, charges filed against him and allegations of fraudulent conduct.