The House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee investigating the purported Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) says it has uncovered about 58 bank accounts allegedly linked to the council’s Director-General, Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, alongside an alleged N400 million transaction suspected to involve fraudulent representations.
The committee said preliminary findings also showed that more than 30 of the identified accounts were allegedly operated in the names of about nine agencies, companies, foundations and related entities connected to Adeyemi, raising concerns over their ownership, control and operational purposes.
Chairman of the committee, Yusuf Gagdi, disclosed the findings on Wednesday while presenting the panel’s preliminary report to parliamentary correspondents in Abuja on the circumstances surrounding the council’s inclusion in the Federal Budget Framework.
According to Gagdi, preliminary information obtained from financial and investigative institutions indicated that the Bank Verification Number (BVN) and other identifying details associated with Adeyemi were linked to a network of personal, corporate, organisational and foundation accounts.
The entities identified by the committee include the Confederation of United Nations Youths; FCT Investment Promotion Agency and Public-Private Partnership; FCT Investment Promotion Council and Public-Private Partnership; Foreign Investment Promotion Agency; United Nations Youth Global Agency; United Nations Youth Global Foundation; World United Nations Youth Global Foundation; World Entrepreneurship University Limited; World Enterprise University Limited; FCT Investment Promotion Act; FCT Promotion Agency; and Olubadan of Ibadan Foundation.
Gagdi, however, stressed that the committee had not concluded that every account, entity or transaction identified was unlawful.
He said the panel was still reconciling registration records, account mandates, beneficial ownership information, signatories and transaction histories to establish the true ownership, nature and control of the organisations and accounts.
The preliminary investigation, however, identified what the committee described as similarities in the nomenclature, objectives, management structures, signatories and banking relationships of several of the entities.
According to Gagdi, the similarities raised concerns about a possible pattern in which organisations may have been created or deployed to manufacture artificial credibility, solicit funds, obtain official recognition or induce members of the public to part with money.
The committee also flagged an alleged N400 million transaction involving a company which reportedly claimed that Adeyemi induced it to make payments in four instalments after allegedly representing that he could secure a contract for the renovation, furnishing or improvement of a purported official residence allocated to him in his claimed capacity as PFIPC Director-General.
Gagdi said investigators were tracing the destination of the funds, identifying the account holders and beneficial owners, and determining whether any public officer or private individual participated in, facilitated or benefited from the transaction.
He said that if established through competent investigative and judicial processes, the allegations could potentially disclose offences including fraudulent misrepresentation, obtaining money by false pretence, impersonation, conspiracy, forgery and offences relating to the concealment or movement of proceeds of crime.
Beyond the financial trail, the committee said its investigation had also uncovered evidence suggesting that the purported PFIPC was never lawfully established.
According to Gagdi, the panel found no Act of the National Assembly, gazetted enactment, Presidential Executive Order or any other lawful instrument establishing the purported council.
The committee said investigations into the matter were ongoing as it continues to examine the legal status, financial activities and operational structure of the organisations and individuals involved.
