PFIPC Probe: Reps Invite NSA, Foreign Affairs Minister

The House of Representatives has summoned the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, to explain the actions taken by his office after confirming that the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) was not a recognised government institution.

The committee also insisted that Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, personally appear before the panel to clarify issues arising from the ministry’s submission.

The summons followed a testimony by the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Dunoma Umar Ahmed, that the ministry never recognised the PFIPC and that enquiries by the Office of the National Security Adviser established its alleged Director-General, Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, was unknown to the Federal Government.

Ahmed told the House Ad-Hoc Committee investigating the alleged appropriation of ₦1.3 billion to the PFIPC in the 2026 Appropriation Act that Adeyemi approached the ministry on three occasions seeking collaboration and endorsement to host a World Investment Summit in Nigeria.

He said the ministry rejected all the requests after due diligence uncovered inconsistencies in the correspondence and raised concerns over the legitimacy of the council and its leadership.

According to him, the ministry subsequently wrote to the Office of the National Security Adviser, which replied that enquiries with the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President confirmed that Adeyemi was unknown to the Federal Government.

Ahmed further said the ministry never participated in any diplomatic engagement involving the PFIPC, facilitated no foreign investors or international partners on its behalf, signed no memorandum of understanding, treaty or investment agreement through the council, and never directed any Nigerian mission abroad to engage with it.

Reacting, Chairman of the committee, Yusuf Gagdi, questioned the actions taken by the Office of the National Security Adviser after confirming that the PFIPC was not a recognised government institution, insisting that the committee must establish whether appropriate action was taken to halt its activities.

“If they discovered that the agency does not exist, then appropriate action ought to have been taken,” Gagdi said.

Oduyemi Odumade, Edited By Grace Namiji