The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has declared that Adeniyi Adeyemi Mathew, who presented himself as Director-General of the purported Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), was never appointed by the Federal Government and that the appointment letter he relied on was forged.
ICPC Chairman, Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu, SAN, made the disclosure on Thursday in Abuja while presenting the commission’s interim findings into the controversial activities of Adeyemi and the purported agency.
Aliyu said the investigation was launched following President Bola Tinubu’s directive of July 7, 2026, giving the commission 30 days to probe the alleged fake presidential agency.
He said he had submitted the interim report to the President and briefed him on the findings before addressing the media.
According to the ICPC chairman, the investigation established that the PFIPC was never created by law, executive order or any other valid government instrument.
He said the commission also established that Adeyemi’s appointment letter, as well as other documents allegedly used to operate the purported agency, were forged.
“The fake appointment letter of Adeniyi Adeyemi Mathew did not originate from the Presidency,” Aliyu declared.
The commission further alleged that the purported PFIPC appropriated the offices and operational instruments of the former Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC), using them to create an appearance of legitimacy.
Aliyu said Adeyemi allegedly engaged in false representation, impersonation and other illegal activities while operating as the purported head of the fictitious agency.
The ICPC chairman said the investigation also uncovered what he described as weaknesses in verification and inter-agency oversight, which were allegedly exploited by Adeyemi with “some level of negligence and connivance” by public officials.
However, Aliyu said the commission found no evidence that Federal Government funds were approved or released to the purported PFIPC or PEAC.
He also said the investigation found no weakness in the systems of the State House or the Central Bank of Nigeria, insisting that the processes examined in those institutions were above board.
In what could widen the scope of the scandal, the ICPC said Adeyemi allegedly created two additional fictitious government agencies.
They were identified as the FCT Investment Promotion Agency (FIFA) and the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency and Public Private Partnership (FIFA-PPP).
According to Aliyu, Adeyemi allegedly forged legislative instruments styled as enabling Acts to give the fictitious bodies an appearance of legality and used the documents to facilitate the opening of bank accounts.
The commission recommended the full prosecution of Adeyemi and administrative sanctions against public officers whose alleged acts of omission or negligence facilitated the operations of the purported agency.
It also recommended institutional reforms aimed at closing loopholes in government verification, inter-agency oversight and administrative processes.
Aliyu, however, stressed that the investigation had not been concluded.
He disclosed that the commission was still examining the activities and bank accounts allegedly linked to PFIPC, Adeyemi and his collaborators.
The development places the controversial PFIPC saga under a broader criminal investigation, with the anti-graft agency now seeking to establish how a purported government institution allegedly operated, acquired official-looking documents and interacted with public and private institutions without a valid legal foundation.