President Bola Tinubu has directed a comprehensive forensic investigation into the scandal involving the fictitious Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC).
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, disclosed this on Wednesday while briefing State House correspondents after the Federal Executive Council meeting chaired by Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Oyedele said the investigation would examine government processes, procedures and internal controls to determine how the fake agency was created and how similar incidents could be prevented.
The directive followed findings by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), which reportedly uncovered at least two additional fake agencies.
The minister said the Attorney-General of the Federation and relevant government institutions had been directed to examine the matter from administrative, accounting and governance perspectives.
Tinubu also ordered that the review cover the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS), as the existence of fake government agencies could indicate the presence of fictitious employees on the federal payroll.
Oyedele said the government had channelled N9.495tn in subsidy savings and additional revenue towards increased salaries and allowances for civil servants, stressing that fake personnel could undermine efforts to improve workers’ welfare.
He explained that the fictitious agency had gone as far as securing an administrative code and a Treasury Single Account (TSA) code, although no money was ultimately paid into the accounts.
Information and National Orientation Minister, Mohammed Idris, said the ICPC investigation showed that the problem went beyond the initially identified Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council and its purported Director-General, Adeniyi Adeyemi.
Idris said the President had ordered a wider examination of government’s administrative and accounting systems, including the engagement of professional audit firms to conduct a full forensic assessment.
He added that the issue might have started before the Tinubu administration and that the government was investigating whether similar cases existed elsewhere.
The controversy began after Adeyemi reportedly presented himself as the Director-General of the PFIPC, which operated from an office within the Federal Secretariat in Abuja despite having no known legal foundation.
The matter attracted further attention during an investigation by a House of Representatives ad hoc committee led by Yusuf Gagdi. The committee was examining how the purported agency was created, how it was included in government processes and whether officials facilitated its operations.
The controversy intensified after allegations that about N1.3bn had been allocated to the agency in the 2026 Appropriation Act.
Meanwhile, the Federal Executive Council approved Double Taxation Avoidance Treaties between Nigeria and Ghana, Tanzania and Switzerland.
Oyedele said the agreements are designed to encourage investment between Nigeria and the three countries while expanding opportunities for Nigerian businesses abroad.
He also announced council approval of a $1.25bn financing facility from the International Development Association and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development to support Nigeria’s Actions for Investment and Job Acceleration development policy financing.
According to Oyedele, the concessional facility has a repayment period of about 30 years and will be used to support job creation and economic development.
