The self-acclaimed Director-General of the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council, Adeniyi Adeyemi, has denied creating the disputed agency alone, alleging that several Federal Government ministries, departments and agencies officially recognised and interacted with it.
Speaking through his legal team while in police custody, Adeyemi also requested permission to appear before the House of Representatives ad hoc committee investigating the council, insisting that denying him the opportunity would violate his constitutional right to a fair hearing.
His lawyers argued that the council’s activities were processed by multiple government institutions, making it impossible for one individual to have established and operated the agency without official involvement.
They claimed that the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation acknowledged documents relating to the council, while the Office of the Accountant-General and the Central Bank of Nigeria issued budget codes, granted self-accounting status and opened operational accounts.
The defence further alleged that the Office of the Head of the Civil Service approved the council’s structure and recruitment waivers, leading to the employment of 314 personnel, while the EFCC allocated office space and recognised the council.
According to the legal team, several security agency chiefs also attended council events, arguing that these actions demonstrated broad institutional recognition rather than the activities of a lone impostor.
The lawyers accused the authorities of making Adeyemi a scapegoat to conceal wider administrative failures and called for an independent investigation involving civil society, legal experts and other stakeholders to review the council’s dealings across government institutions.
The House of Representatives committee is already investigating the scandal, with the Head of the Civil Service, Didi Walson-Jack, previously admitting that her office failed to carry out adequate due diligence before approving recruitment requests linked to the controversial council.
