The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offenses Commission (ICPC) has recommended administrative sanctions against 13 public servants allegedly associated with the activities of the purported Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC).
The recommendation, it was learnt, was part of the commission’s interim investigation report on the organization which the ICPC said operated without any valid legal instrument establishing it as a Federal Government agency.
The report, submitted to President Bola Tinubu on August 6 and obtained by Premium Times, also recommended the prosecution of the alleged Director-General of the PFIPC, Adeniyi Adeyemi, for allegations bordering on forgery, impersonation, false statements and criminal misrepresentation.
The findings revealed how the alleged agency had allegedly managed to infiltrate government offices, financial institutions and administrative processes without a recognized legal basis.
The recommendations for administrative action are Mimi Abu, Director, Organization Design and Development Department, Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation; Rosemary Achem, Special Adviser on Administration to the Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation; and Patricia Akhigbe, Assistant Director, Ministry of Budget and National Planning.
Others are Aminu Abdullahi, Schedule Officer, Office Allocation Department, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation; Bello Abdullahi, Assistant Director, IPSAS, National Chart of Accounts, Consolidated Account Department, Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation; Sanni Olubunmi, Director, Inspectorate Department, OAGF; and Jousha Kadiri Luka, Director, Consolidated Accounts Department, OAGF.
Others are Muazu Balami, Deputy Director, Risk and Review, Inspectorate Department, OAGF, Omameh Florence, Assistant Director, Inspectorate Department, OAGF, Akinlose Moses, Inspectorate Department, OAGF, Ogaba Harry, Chief Accountant, OAGF, Esther Orji Okoli, Principal Executive Officer I, OAGF and Ogunbade Habeebat Ajibola, Manager, Compliance and Regulation Department, National Information Technology Development Agency.
The commission also called on the affected institutions to make reforms that the investigation found.
According to the ICPC, Adeyemi relied on documents that he claimed were issued by the President or the government and that served as the basis for official recognition of the PFIPC.
It was said that the documents were used for attempts to obtain office accommodation, to gain self-accounting status and to enable the opening of accounts with the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The organization’s applications were processed by a number of government bodies who believed it was a legitimate government body, according to reports.
The commission said Adeyemi was never appointed by the Federal Government and that the PFIPC was never created by any law, executive order or other valid instrument.
The ICPC thus recommended that he be prosecuted for forgery, impersonation, making false statements to public officers and criminal misrepresentation.
Adeyemi has been charged along with two other defendants in an eight-count case involving conspiracy, forgery and impersonation.
He was arrested in July after a warrant was issued for his arrest by a Federal High Court in Abuja when he failed to appear for arraignment. He denied any illegal activity.
The investigation also revealed the extent to which it is alleged that the organization has penetrated the administrative and financial structures of the Federal Government.
The OSGF, OAGF and CBN had stated that they acted on requests originating from the organization, according to Premium Times.
In one instance, the OAGF wrote to the CBN on July 29, 2025, requesting for the opening of four domiciliary accounts for two purported MDAs, one of which is the PFIPC.
The CBN later confirmed the organization opened dollar and pound accounts.
The agency was also said to have obtained an office accommodation at the Federal Secretariat, Abuja, after it wrote to the OSGF in November 2024 for office space and self-accounting status.
The ICPC stated that there was no legal basis for the PFIPC that would support its existence as a Federal Government institution.
In addition to the administrative sanctions recommended, the ICPC recommended a further investigation into the roles of officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Finance in the process by which the PFIPC allegedly obtained government recognition.
The panel also recommended inviting officials and persons associated with other suspected fake MDAs, forged legislative Acts and Unity Bank accounts for interrogation.
The people to be questioned include the managing director, chief compliance officer and relationship or account officers associated with Unity Bank accounts allegedly linked to the organization.
Two OAGF officials, Adekunle Ajayi and Lovina Akabueze were also listed for further interrogation. The ICPC also called for investigation of all bank accounts linked to Adeyemi and other sources of funds he was alleged to have gotten as loans.
The commission said the investigation exposed cracks in the procedures government institutions follow to authenticate official documents and to determine the legal status of entities applying for access to public resources.
The findings suggest that officials who dealt with the PFIPC relied heavily on the documents provided by the organization, instead of independently confirming whether it had been legally established.
The commission therefore recommended stronger verification mechanisms and better coordination between government agencies.
It stated that only those with valid legal instruments should be granted access to government offices, financial facilities, public resources or other administrative privileges.
The Presidency has always denied any link between the Federal Government and the so-called agency.
President Tinubu had earlier ordered an investigation into the PFIPC following concerns about its activities.
The President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, had said the organization was fake and Adeyemi was not appointed to head any such agency.
Gbajabiamila was also cleared of any wrongdoing in the ICPC investigation. The PFIPC probe has also expanded the scope of investigation into alleged unregistered government entities.
The ICPC has also uncovered another suspected fake body, the National Brands Development and Made in Nigeria Special Project Office, operating from the OSGF during the investigation.
President Tinubu then suspended three permanent secretaries and ordered the arrest of the alleged promoter of the office, George Buchi Nwabueze.
ICPC Chairman, Musa Aliyu said investigators discovered that Nwabueze operated with several permutations of his name and some officials within the OSGF were suspected to be working with him.
The commission also alleged that forged legislative instruments were used to create the appearance of government legitimacy for the entities and to facilitate the opening of bank accounts.
