The House of Representatives ad hoc committee investigating the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) has been told that the agency and its Director-General, Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, are not recognised by the Federal Government.
Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Dunoma Umar Ahmed, revealed that the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) formally disowned the agency in a letter sent to the ministry in November 2025.
Ahmed said Adeyemi approached the ministry three times, requesting support and endorsement to organise the World Investment Summit in Nigeria in 2025 and 2026. However, the ministry declined because it discovered inconsistencies in his submissions and initiated due diligence.
Following its enquiries, the ministry sought clarification from the ONSA, which confirmed that both the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President had no record of Adeyemi or the PFIPC as legitimate government entities.
The Foreign Affairs Ministry also told lawmakers that it never collaborated with the PFIPC, facilitated diplomatic engagements on its behalf, signed any agreements linked to it or instructed Nigerian foreign missions to engage with the agency.
Committee Chairman Yusuf Gagdi questioned why security agencies failed to act after the ONSA established in November 2025 that the agency was fictitious, stressing that the committee must determine what actions followed that discovery.
The panel consequently invited National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu to appear before it to explain the measures taken after the ONSA confirmed the agency’s illegality. It also summoned Foreign Affairs Minister Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu to personally clarify issues arising from the ministry’s submission.
The committee reiterated that all invited public officials must appear in person and pledged to conduct a transparent investigation. It also recalled earlier testimonies that the Head of the Civil Service never allocated office space to the PFIPC, while the Central Bank of Nigeria confirmed that two domiciliary accounts opened for the agency were never activated or used.
