The self-acclaimed Director-General of the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), Adeniyi Adeyemi, has denied allegations that he single-handedly established the disputed agency, insisting that several ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) of the Federal Government officially recognised, processed and interacted with the council before the controversy emerged.
Adeyemi, who is currently in police custody, made the claims in a statement issued on Sunday through his legal defence team, led by Festus Akhigbe.
The detained council boss also called on the House of Representatives ad hoc committee investigating the alleged fake agency to allow him to appear physically before the panel to give evidence, arguing that any report produced without hearing his side of the story would violate his constitutional right to a fair hearing.
According to the statement, the legal team formally requested the committee, chaired by Hon. Yusuf Gagdi, to grant the necessary administrative clearance for Adeyemi to testify in person.
The lawyers maintained that portraying their client as the sole architect of the controversial agency was misleading, arguing that the council allegedly received official recognition and administrative support from several government institutions.
They claimed that the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) acknowledged documents relating to the council and facilitated the allocation of office space at the Federal Secretariat.
The defence team further alleged that the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) acted on official documentation by issuing administrative budget codes, granting self-accounting status, posting civil servants to the council and opening operational bank accounts.
They also claimed that the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation approved the council’s organisational structure and granted recruitment waivers that enabled the employment of 314 personnel.
According to the statement, the council also enjoyed interactions with several security agencies, while the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) allegedly allocated a property to the organisation, collected a processing fee and presented a plaque of recognition to its leadership.
The lawyers questioned how their client could be held solely responsible if key government institutions had processed documents, approved administrative requests and maintained official engagements with the council over an extended period.
They argued that it would have been practically impossible for a private individual to deceive multiple arms of government simultaneously without institutional failures or official approvals.
The legal team further alleged that Adeyemi was being made a scapegoat for what it described as systemic administrative lapses, procedural failures and internal approvals within government agencies.
They therefore called for a broader, independent investigation involving civil society organisations, legal professionals and other impartial observers to examine the complete documentary trail across all ministries, departments and agencies linked to the council.
According to the lawyers, justice would not be served by prosecuting one individual while ignoring the roles allegedly played by government institutions that processed, recognised and interacted with the council.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives ad hoc committee investigating the matter has continued its hearings, with several heads of government agencies appearing before the panel.
Among those who testified was the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack, who acknowledged that her office failed to conduct adequate due diligence before approving recruitment requests associated with the controversial council headed by Adeyemi.
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