PFIPC Scandal: Reps Uncover 58 Bank Accounts, ₦400m Deal Linked To Detained DG

The House of Representatives ad hoc committee investigating the controversial Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council has uncovered 58 bank accounts allegedly linked to Adeniyi Adeyemi, who presented himself as the organisation’s Director-General.

The committee also identified 12 agencies and entities allegedly connected to Adeyemi and disclosed an alleged ₦400 million transaction under investigation.

The findings were contained in the committee’s preliminary report released on Wednesday by its chairman, Yusuf Gagdi, as lawmakers continued their investigation.

The panel said preliminary financial information showed that identifying details associated with Adeyemi were linked to about 58 bank accounts. More than 30 were operated in the names of about nine entities.

The lawmakers stressed that they had not concluded that every account, organisation or transaction identified was unlawful, saying investigations into ownership, account mandates, beneficial interests and transaction histories were still ongoing.

The committee disclosed an allegation involving approximately ₦400 million allegedly paid by a company to Adeyemi in four instalments.

The company claimed it was induced to make the payments after being promised a contract involving the renovation, furnishing or improvement of a residence purportedly allocated to Adeyemi in his claimed official capacity.

The lawmakers said they were tracing the destinations of the payments, account holders and beneficial owners involved in the transaction. They are also investigating the ownership and status of the property allegedly presented as Adeyemi’s official residence.

The committee said the investigation would distinguish between individuals who may have been deceived and those who knowingly participated in or benefited from the activities under scrutiny.

The panel also found that the PFIPC was not lawfully established by any valid Act of the National Assembly or presidential order.

It further said evidence obtained from the State House showed that Adeyemi was not appointed by the Presidency as Director-General and that Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, did not sign the appointment letter attributed to him.

The committee exonerated Gbajabiamila from allegations that he authorised or participated in the purported agency’s activities.

The investigation is continuing, with lawmakers examining financial records, official documents, recruitment activities and the involvement of other individuals and entities connected to the controversy.