The House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee investigating the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) has summoned the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, to explain the actions taken after government agencies reportedly established that the council was unknown to the Federal Government.
The summons followed revelations by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dunoma Umar Ahmed, that the ministry had no official relationship with the PFIPC and rejected its request for endorsement to host a World Investment Summit after detecting discrepancies in its documents.
Ahmed told the committee that the ministry subsequently wrote to the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) on October 16, 2025, seeking clarification on the council’s status.
According to him, ONSA replied on November 26, 2025, informing the ministry that inquiries made with the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President confirmed that neither the council nor its Director-General, Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, was recognised by the Federal Government.
The committee is probing allegations that Adeyemi paid N400 million to the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, to secure his appointment as Director-General of the council and that Gbajabiamila later demanded 48 per cent of the council’s proposed N27.3 billion take-off grant.
Gbajabiamila has denied the allegations and instituted a N15 billion defamation suit against Adeyemi.
Lawmakers are also investigating how more than N1.3 billion was appropriated for the council in the 2026 budget despite questions over its legal status.
The committee is further examining how the council allegedly recruited over 300 staff members, secured office accommodation within the Federal Secretariat, and operated bank accounts.
During the hearing, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) disclosed that it approved the opening of two domiciliary accounts for the PFIPC after receiving authorisation from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.
Meanwhile, Chairman of the committee, Rep. Yusuf Gagdi, rejected the representative of the Minister of Finance for appearing without the required documents needed for the investigation.
Gagdi issued what he described as a final notice to all invited ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) that failed to honour previous invitations or appeared without relevant records.
He directed them to appear before the committee on Thursday with all requested documents, warning that the House would invoke its constitutional powers under Sections 88 and 89 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) against any agency or official that failed to comply.
The committee maintained that its investigation is aimed at uncovering how the controversial council operated within government structures despite claims by key federal institutions that it was never recognised by the Federal Government.
