Tinubu orders ICPC to investigate fake Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council
By Ishaya Ibrahim
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to launch a full investigation into the activities of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), a body the presidency says never legally existed.
According to a statement issued Tuesday by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Tinubu has ordered the ICPC to conclude its probe and submit a comprehensive report to him within 30 days.
The directive follows the discovery that the PFIPC has no basis in any law, presidential instrument, executive approval, or other lawful act of government. One Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew had presented himself as the council’s Director-General, falsely claiming to be a presidential appointee.
Among the specific issues the ICPC has been tasked with investigating are forged appointment letters and other official documents, the use of a false presidential appointment claim to seek 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.
The President directed the Commission to look beyond the conduct of Adeyemi and his collaborators, to examine the broader circumstances that allowed a fictitious body and a false claim of presidential appointment to take on an appearance of official legitimacy.
The investigation is expected to trace the origin and use of the false documents, the processes through which official recognition or diplomatic support may have been obtained, the operation of any related bank accounts, and the source and movement of any funds involved. It will also probe the role of any public officer, private individual, financial institution, or intermediary who may have facilitated or participated in the scheme.
Tinubu further directed the ICPC to identify weaknesses in government and institutional procedures that may have been exploited, and to recommend immediate measures to prevent similar abuses in the future.
All federal ministries, departments and agencies have been directed to provide the ICPC with any information, records and assistance required for a swift conclusion to the investigation.
The President said the integrity of the Presidency and federal institutions must be protected against impersonation, forgery, abuse of official identity, and exploitation of weaknesses within the public service, and directed that all persons found culpable be treated strictly in accordance with the law.
Notably, the presidential directive makes no mention of investigating how the phantom agency was allegedly captured in the 2026 federal budget — a question that has featured prominently in public reactions to the scandal, including from former SGF Babachir Lawal, who has questioned how a non-existent agency obtained a budget code and moved through the appropriations process undetected.
