The House of Representatives has intensified its investigation into the controversial alleged Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), issuing a 48-hour ultimatum to Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) accused of frustrating its probe.
The House Ad-hoc Committee investigating the alleged establishment, funding and operations of the council warned that defaulting agencies must appear before it on Thursday with all requested officials and documents or face constitutional sanctions.
Chairman of the committee, Yusuf Gagdi, described the refusal of some agencies to honour invitations as a direct challenge to the constitutional oversight powers of the National Assembly.
He stressed that invitations issued by House committees are backed by Sections 88 and 89 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and are legally binding.
“Thursday is the final opportunity for every defaulting agency to comply voluntarily with the lawful directives of this Committee,” Gagdi said.
He warned that any ministry, department or agency that fails to appear without lawful justification would face the full weight of the law, adding that the committee would invoke all constitutional and statutory powers available to compel compliance.
According to Gagdi, the investigation is not aimed at victimising any individual or institution but at establishing the facts surrounding the alleged council and ensuring that no public office operates outside the framework of the law.
The committee also insisted that Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, personally appear before the panel, despite the ministry sending a representative to Tuesday’s hearing.
The investigation follows allegations that the PFIPC operated as a government agency despite questions surrounding its legal status and its reported appearance in official government records.
Earlier hearings revealed that the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs neither recognised the council nor had any official dealings with its alleged Director-General, Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi. The ministry also told lawmakers that the Office of the National Security Adviser informed it that both the council and Adeyemi were unknown to the Federal Government.
Officials of the Central Bank of Nigeria also told the committee that accounts reportedly linked to the council were opened on the directive of the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation but contained zero balances and recorded no financial transactions.
Lawmakers are also examining how the alleged agency appeared in government records, the opening of bank accounts in its name, and whether any public institution facilitated its activities.
Falana Withdraws
Meanwhile, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has withdrawn as counsel to Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi.
Confirming the development on Tuesday, Falana simply said, “I have withdrawn from the Adeyemi case.”
He did not disclose the reasons for his decision.
However, a source familiar with the matter said Falana, who reportedly handled the case pro bono, had advised Adeyemi against granting media interviews while investigations were ongoing.
According to the source, Adeyemi ignored the advice and later participated in an Instagram Live interview with social media activist Martins Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan.
The source further claimed that Falana’s decision to withdraw was triggered after Adeyemi informed him that he would not appear in court on July 27, the scheduled date for his arraignment.
Adeyemi has denied allegations of forgery, impersonation and conspiracy levelled against him.
The Federal High Court in Abuja is handling criminal proceedings related to the case, while the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies continue separate investigations.
Sowore Challenges ICPC
Human rights activist and African Action Congress presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, has also challenged the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to release the full, unedited video of its interrogation of the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila.
In a post on X on Tuesday, Sowore dismissed the commission’s explanation that Gbajabiamila merely honoured an invitation from investigators.
“If the ICPC truly interrogated Tinubu’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, they should release the full, unedited video recording to the public now. All these gimmicks won’t work. We know this is just another smokescreen,” he wrote.
The demand followed the ICPC’s clarification that Gbajabiamila was not arrested but voluntarily appeared before investigators to answer questions relating to the ongoing PFIPC investigation before leaving after making his statement.
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