President Bola Tinubu has ordered a comprehensive forensic investigation into the scandal surrounding the fictitious Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), following findings that additional fake government agencies may exist within the federal system.
The directive was announced on Wednesday by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, while briefing State House correspondents after the Federal Executive Council meeting chaired by the President at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Oyedele said the decision followed preliminary findings by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), which uncovered weaknesses in government administrative and financial processes that enabled the purported agency to operate.
According to him, the forensic investigation will examine existing procedures, internal controls and other lapses that may have allowed fictitious agencies to gain access to official government structures.
He said the exercise would focus on identifying what went wrong, determining how such failures can be prevented and strengthening government systems against a recurrence.
Oyedele said the Attorney-General of the Federation and the Ministry of Finance had been directed to work with other relevant agencies to address the matter comprehensively, covering its administrative, financial and governance implications.
The minister added that President Tinubu had ordered the investigation to extend to the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS), amid concerns that the existence of fake agencies could also point to fictitious workers on the federal payroll.
“If you have fake agencies, you most likely have fake employees,” Oyedele said, stressing that the government could not afford to allow non-existent workers to undermine efforts to improve salaries and welfare for legitimate public servants.
He disclosed that about N9.495 trillion from subsidy savings and increased government revenue had been used to support improved salaries and allowances for civil servants, adding that the government was determined to ensure such resources were not undermined by fraudulent structures.
Oyedele said the fictitious council had managed to secure an office within the Federal Secretariat and obtain both an administrative code and a Treasury Single Account (TSA) code, although no government funds were paid into its accounts.
He described the development as a serious institutional failure and said the forensic review would determine how the organisation was created, who may have facilitated its operations and what measures are needed to prevent a recurrence.
Also speaking after the meeting, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said the ICPC investigation had uncovered more fake agencies beyond the PFIPC.
Idris said President Tinubu was concerned not only about the financial implications of the scandal but also about the administrative weaknesses that allowed such organisations to operate within the federal system.
He said the President had directed the Attorney-General and the Finance Minister to jointly review the administrative and accounting structures involved and engage professional audit firms to conduct a comprehensive forensic assessment.
The aim, Idris said, is to identify and close the loopholes responsible for the scandal and prevent similar incidents in the future.
He added that the fraudulent activities may have predated the Tinubu administration, noting that the government was investigating the possibility that similar irregularities could exist elsewhere.
The controversy began after Adeniyi Adeyemi allegedly presented himself as the Director-General of the PFIPC, while the purported council operated from an office within the Federal Secretariat in Abuja.
Questions were later raised during an investigation by a House of Representatives ad hoc committee chaired by Yusuf Gagdi over how an organisation without legal backing was able to function as a government agency and gain access to official administrative processes.
The matter gained further attention following allegations that about N1.3 billion was allocated to the purported council in the 2026 Appropriation Act.
The House subsequently set up an ad hoc committee to investigate how the agency was created, how it was included in the budget and whether any government officials or institutions aided its operations.
Meanwhile, Oyedele disclosed that the Federal Executive Council also approved the signing of Double Taxation Avoidance Treaties between Nigeria and Ghana, Tanzania and Switzerland.
He said the agreements were designed to expand opportunities for Nigerian businesses to invest abroad while attracting investment into the country.
Oyedele added that Nigeria was working to build a stronger network of tax treaties to improve its competitiveness and investment appeal.
The council also approved a $1.25 billion financing facility from the International Development Association and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development to support Nigeria’s Actions for Investment and Job Acceleration development policy financing.
According to Oyedele, the concessional facility, which has a repayment period of about 30 years, will be deployed to support initiatives aimed at accelerating job creation and economic growth.
