The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has recommended disciplinary action against 13 public officials over their alleged roles in the scandal surrounding the purported Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC).
The recommendation is contained in an interim investigation report submitted to President Bola Tinubu on 6 August, following a presidential directive to investigate how the organisation, which lacked a valid legal instrument, gained access to government offices, financial systems and other official privileges.
The ICPC also recommended the prosecution of Adeniyi Adeyemi, who presented himself as the Director-General of the purported agency, over allegations including forgery, impersonation, making false statements to public officers and criminal misrepresentation.
The commission found that Adeyemi was never appointed by the Federal Government and that the PFIPC was not established by any law, executive order or other valid government instrument.
13 officials named
Among those recommended for administrative action are Mimi Abu, Director of the Organisation Design and Development Department at the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation; Rosemary Achem, Special Adviser on Administration to the Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation; and Patricia Akhigbe, an Assistant Director at the Ministry of Budget and National Planning.
Others are Aminu Abdullahi, Schedule Officer, Office Allocation, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation; Bello Abdullahi, Assistant Director, IPSAS, National Chart of Accounts, Consolidated Account Department, Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation; Sanni Olubunmi, Director, Inspectorate Department, OAGF; and Jousha Kadiri Luka, Director, Consolidated Accounts Department, OAGF.
The list also includes Muazu Balami, Deputy Director, Risk and Review, Inspectorate Department, OAGF; Omameh Florence, Assistant Director, Inspectorate Department, OAGF; Akinlose Moses of the Inspectorate Department, OAGF; Ogaba Harry, Chief Accountant, OAGF; Esther Orji Okoli, Principal Executive Officer I, OAGF; and Ogunbade Habeebat Ajibola, Manager, Compliance and Regulation Department, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).
The ICPC further recommended that the affected institutions implement reforms identified during the investigation, particularly measures aimed at strengthening the verification of government documents and preventing illegitimate organisations from accessing public resources.
How the alleged fake agency penetrated government
According to the investigation, the purported agency gained credibility within government through documents presented as official presidential instruments.
Adeyemi reportedly used the documents to secure office accommodation at the Federal Secretariat in Abuja, obtain self-accounting status, secure an administrative code and facilitate requests for the opening of accounts with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The OAGF granted the organisation self-accounting status and assigned it an administrative code in May 2025, enabling it to gain access to government financial systems and subsequently secure recognition in the 2026 federal budget.
The investigation also found that several government officials processed requests from the purported agency without adequately verifying its legal status.
The ICPC said the episode exposed significant weaknesses in government verification and coordination systems, stressing the need for stronger mechanisms to authenticate official documents before granting access to public facilities, financial systems and other government privileges.
ICPC seeks wider probe
Beyond the 13 officials, the anti-corruption commission recommended further investigation into the roles of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Finance in the process through which legitimacy was allegedly accorded to the purported agency.
It also recommended inviting officials connected to Unity Bank accounts allegedly linked to the organisation, as well as certain officials of the OAGF, for questioning.
The commission wants an analysis of bank accounts linked to Adeyemi and an examination of other sources of funds he allegedly obtained as loans.
Adeyemi is already facing criminal proceedings after police charged him and two other defendants with eight counts bordering on conspiracy, forgery and impersonation. He has denied wrongdoing.
The Presidency had earlier disowned both Adeyemi and the PFIPC, with the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, stating that neither the purported agency nor Adeyemi’s appointment existed under the Tinubu administration.
The ICPC cleared Mr Gbajabiamila of any wrongdoing in its investigation.
The scandal has since widened following the discovery of another suspected fake agency, the National Brands Development and Made in Nigeria Special Project Office, allegedly operating within the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
President Tinubu subsequently ordered the suspension of three permanent secretaries and the arrest of the alleged promoter of the second organisation, further raising concerns over weaknesses in Nigeria’s public-sector verification and oversight mechanisms.
