Tinubu Orders ICPC Probe Into Fictitious Government Council

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has ordered the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to conduct a 30-day investigation into the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC). The presidency has declared the PFIPC a fictitious body with no legal basis, asserting that Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew used forged appointment letters and a falsified signature of Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila to pose as its Director-General.

Despite its fraudulent nature, the PFIPC secured office space within the Federal Secretariat in Abuja and was allocated 1.3 billion naira in the 2026 Appropriation Act. The ICPC is tasked with investigating the movement of funds across 34 linked bank accounts and identifying institutional weaknesses that allowed the deception to persist. While some reports suggested funds were siphoned, the Accountant-General's Office maintains that the agency never held an operational account nor received public disbursements.

Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew faces an eight-count charge of forgery and impersonation, with a court appearance scheduled for July 27. He denies the charges, claiming the council was lawfully established in 2024 and alleging that Femi Gbajabiamila accepted 400 million naira in bribes to facilitate the appointment. Gbajabiamila has denied these claims and threatened a 10 billion naira lawsuit against Matthew.

The Nigerian Senate has declined to intervene, citing a lack of formal petitions and ongoing litigation. However, opposition leader Atiku Abubakar and the African Democratic Congress have called for a neutral judicial panel, arguing that a government-led probe lacks credibility.