The Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu, has submitted an interim report to President Bola Tinubu on the establishment of the fake Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) and the fraudulent revival of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC), recommending the prosecution of Mr Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew for orchestrating the illegal operation.
Briefing State House Correspondents after presenting the report to the President on Thursday, the ICPC Chairman said investigations established that Mr Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew was never appointed by the Federal Government or any authorised government institution, contrary to claims made by the suspect.
He said the Commission also confirmed that the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) was never established by any law, Executive Order or any other valid instrument of government, while the appointment letter presented by Adeyemi Adeniyi alongside other documents used to legitimise the agency’s activities was forged.
According to the ICPC Chairman, the suspect also relied on a forged government gazette purportedly serving as the legal instrument establishing the fake agency.
He added that the agency unlawfully appropriated the identity, office and operational instruments of the defunct Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC).
“If you recall, there was a gazette, a law which was forged as an instrument which he used to support the fake agency. That is guarded for the law that is an illegal law that has never passed through the processes as provided by the law, and also the fake agency cannibalises the former presidential economic advisory council (PEAC) and illegally appropriates offices and instruments of operation.
“What we discovered that the office used by the fake agency through Adeyemi Mathew was that the office of PEAC was broken, the lock was broken, and it had access to the office.
“That was how he was able to get inside that office, and also the false projection, false representation, widespread impersonation, and wide range of illegal activities were penetrated by the fake DG agency Adeniyi Adeyem” He stated.
Dr. Aliyu said the Commission identified weaknesses in verification processes, inter-agency oversight and government administrative procedures, which were exploited by the suspect with the aid of negligence and connivance by some public officials.
He, however, clarified that no Federal Government funds were approved or disbursed to the fake PFIPC/PEAC and stressed that investigators found no weaknesses in the systems of the Presidency.
“And also, our interim report found that there are weaknesses in verification, inter-agency oversight, and government processes that we discovered that those weaknesses were exploited by Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew with some level of negligence, and also our investigation found that no funds of the federal government were approved or disbursed to the fake PFIPC/PEAC, and
“We discovered that there were no weaknesses in the system of the State House, and also the fake appointment letter of Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew did not originate from the presidency.”
The ICPC Chairman disclosed that investigations uncovered two additional fictitious government agencies created by Adeyemi, namely the FCT Investment Promotion Agency and the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency and Public-Private Partnership.
He added that Adeyemi later changed the name of the fake agency from the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council to the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council in an attempt to expand its mandate and encroach on the responsibilities of legitimate government revenue-generating agencies.
“And the ICPC discovered that Adeniyi Adeyemi Mathew also created two additional fictitious government agencies. Apart from the one that is known in the public domain, our investigation revealed two other fake government agencies, namely the FCT Investment Promotion Agency, with the acronym FIPPA, and the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency and Public Private Partnership, to facilitate the creation of the additional two fake agencies to use such legislative instruments styled as enabling acts. “He stated.
He disclosed that collaborators were identified in the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).
Also speaking, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communications, Sunday Dare, said President Tinubu would study the interim report and consult the Attorney-General of the Federation before further action is taken.
He explained that the briefing was intended to keep Nigerians informed in the interest of transparency, adding that investigations by the National Assembly, the Nigeria Police Force and other relevant institutions would complement the process.
Other recommendations of the ICPC to the President include the imposition of administrative sanctions on public officers whose acts of omission, commission and negligence facilitated the illegal operation of the fake PFIPC/PEAC and comprehensive institutional reforms to strengthen internal controls across Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to prevent similar abuses in the future.
“The recommendations include administrative sanctions being imposed on public officers whose acts of permissions, commission and negligence facilitated the illegal operation of PFIFC/PEAC because our investigation found that some public officers failed to do due diligence and they failed to adhere to the standard procedure of procedures that are supposed to be compliant in their ministries and departments, and that was what gave Adeniyi Adeyemi Mathew the opportunity to conduct this illegal act.
“Thirdly, then institutional reform has also been recommended. There is a need for institutional reform so that the internal control of ministries, departments and agencies be strengthened to block this kind of illegal activity that happened.” The ICPC Chairman added.
