The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has stated that the appointment letter presented by Adeniyi Adeyemi Mathew, who paraded himself as the Director-General of the purported Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), was forged and did not originate from the Presidency.
ICPC Chairman, Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu (SAN), disclosed this on Thursday during a press conference in Abuja while presenting the interim findings of the commission’s investigation into the activities of Adeyemi and the fictitious agency.
Aliyu said the investigation was launched following President Bola Tinubu’s directive on July 7, 2026, mandating the commission to investigate the circumstances surrounding the creation and operations of the PFIPC within 30 days.
According to him, the interim report has been submitted to the President, who also directed that the findings be made public in the interest of transparency and accountability.
“Recall that the President on July 7, 2026, gave the ICPC 30 days to investigate the fake Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council, and today is exactly 30 days. I have just submitted the interim report and briefed Mr. President accordingly,” Aliyu said.
The ICPC Chairman stated that the investigation established that Adeniyi Adeyemi Mathew was never appointed by the Federal Government or any legitimate authority.
He further revealed that the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council never existed in law, having not been created through any Act of the National Assembly, Executive Order or any other valid government instrument.
“The appointment letter presented by Adeniyi Adeyemi Mathew was completely forged alongside similar documents used to perpetuate the illegal activities of the fake agency”.
He added that the investigation found that the fake PFIPC unlawfully appropriated the identity and operational structures of the defunct Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC), using them to create the impression of legitimacy.
Aliyu said investigators uncovered extensive acts of impersonation, false representation and other fraudulent activities allegedly carried out by Adeyemi while presenting himself as the head of the non-existent agency.
According to the commission, the suspect exploited weaknesses in inter-agency verification procedures and oversight mechanisms, aided by what it described as negligence and possible connivance on the part of some public officials.
Despite the elaborate scheme, the ICPC said its investigation found no evidence that Federal Government funds were approved or disbursed to the fake PFIPC or the appropriated PEAC.
The commission also cleared key government institutions of any wrongdoing, stating that no weaknesses were found in the systems or operational processes of either the State House or the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
“The fake appointment letter of Adeniyi Adeyemi Mathew did not originate from the Presidency,” the ICPC Chairman stressed.
Beyond the fake PFIPC, the commission disclosed that Adeyemi allegedly created two additional fictitious government agencies to further his activities.
The agencies are the FCT Investment Promotion Agency (FIFA) and the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency and Public Private Partnership (FIFA-PPP).
Aliyu alleged that the suspect forged legislative instruments, presenting them as enabling Acts establishing the agencies, and subsequently used the fabricated documents to facilitate the opening of bank accounts.
Based on the interim findings, the ICPC recommended the immediate prosecution of Adeniyi Adeyemi Mathew for his alleged role in the fraud.
The commission also called for administrative sanctions against public officers whose acts of omission or negligence enabled the illegal operations of the fake PFIPC and PEAC.
In addition, Aliyu said the commission had proposed institutional reforms aimed at strengthening verification processes, inter-agency collaboration and oversight mechanisms to prevent similar incidents in the future.
He noted that investigations remain ongoing into all activities linked to the fake agency, including its financial transactions, bank accounts, those of Adeyemi, and his suspected collaborators.
“The investigation into all activities, bank accounts of PFIPC, Adeniyi Adeyemi and his collaborators is ongoing,” the ICPC Chairman said.
