Reps Probe Exposes Alleged Forgery Network Behind Fake PFIPC DG Appointment

• House committee declares the purported appointment letter of the alleged PFIPC Director-General fake after police forensic analysis and verification by the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.

• Lawmakers say the so-called Establishment Act used to create the council lacked Gazette numbers, citation details and other mandatory security features of a valid Act of the National Assembly.

• Probe uncovers a non-existent Directorate of Administration and Support Services allegedly created to give credibility to forged government documents.

• Committee says evidence points to an extensive web of fabricated official documents used to infiltrate government institutions, with preliminary findings due next week.

July 29, () — The House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee investigating the unlawful establishment of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC) and the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) has uncovered what it described as an elaborate network of fake government documents allegedly used to penetrate the Presidency and other key federal institutions

It declared the purported appointment letter of the council’s alleged Director-General, Prince Adeyemi, fraudulent.

The committee said its investigation revealed that forged official correspondences, a fabricated Establishment Act and a fictitious State House department were allegedly deployed to obtain government approvals and confer legitimacy on the controversial council.

Chairman of the committee, Yusuf Gagdi disclosed the findings on Wednesday after a hearing, saying documentary evidence obtained from the Nigeria Police Force, the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HCSF) and other government institutions exposed what appears to be one of the most sophisticated document fraud schemes uncovered within the federal bureaucracy.

Police Forensics Declare Appointment Letter Fake

Gagdi said forensic analysis conducted by the Nigeria Police Force confirmed that the letter purportedly appointing Prince Adeyemi as Director-General of the council did not originate from the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President.

According to him, findings by the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation corroborated the police investigation, establishing that the appointment letter was fake.

“You have clearly stated that you acted on false documents. The Head of Service has now established, just like we have, that the letter of appointment of the so-called DG is not only forged, it is fake,” Gagdi said.

He explained that investigators compared the disputed letter with nine authentic correspondences issued from the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President and discovered glaring inconsistencies.

“If something is forged, there will be an attempt to imitate the signature. But in this case, the signatures are completely different.

“So I will not call it forged; I will say it is fake because the originator of that letter did not even attempt to imitate the signature of the Chief of Staff to the President,” he added.

The committee examined official communications addressed to the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, the Office of the National Security Adviser, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Department of State Services, the Nigeria Police Force and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

According to Gagdi, the signature on the disputed appointment letter was the only one that differed from the authentic documents reviewed during the investigation.

Committee Rejects Purported Establishment Act

The lawmakers also dismissed the authenticity of the purported Establishment Act presented to several government agencies as the legal basis for creating the Presidential Economic Advisory Council and the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council.

Gagdi said the document failed every legal and procedural test required of a valid Act of the National Assembly.

“Our Acts of the National Assembly have citation numbers, Gazette numbers, Gazette titles and other security features. The Act presented to the Head of Service had none of these features. It was totally mutilated,” he said.

He noted that the discovery reinforced the committee’s conclusion that several government institutions had unknowingly acted on fabricated documents.

Probe Uncovers Phantom State House Department

In another major revelation, the committee alleged that those behind the scheme created a fictitious department within the State House to lend credibility to the documents submitted to government institutions.

“We have equally discovered that the suspect created a fake office in the State House that does not exist at all.

“There is no Directorate of Administration and Support Services in the State House as reflected in the documents presented before government agencies,” Gagdi said.

He added that investigators would carry out further verification into the alleged creation and use of the non-existent department before concluding the probe.

According to the committee chairman, documentary evidence gathered so far points to an extensive pattern of document forgery designed to mislead public institutions.

“Based on documentary evidence obtained during the investigation and engagements with relevant government institutions, the committee has uncovered what appears to be an extensive pattern of document forgery,” he stated.

Gagdi disclosed that although most aspects of the investigation had been concluded, the committee would hold final closed-door sessions with the remaining agencies before presenting its preliminary findings to Nigerians next week.

“The committee remains committed to conducting a thorough, impartial and transparent investigation in the interest of justice, accountability and the protection of public institutions,” he said.

Background

The House of Representatives constituted the ad-hoc committee following allegations that the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC) and the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) operated as federal government entities despite claims that neither body was lawfully established.

The controversy deepened after investigators alleged that the purported PFIPC secured office accommodation within the Federal Secretariat in Abuja and received a ₦1.32 billion allocation in the 2026 Appropriation Act, despite questions over its legal status.

The scandal has already resulted in the arrest and detention of Prince Adeyemi, Director-General of the council, who is being investigated by the Nigeria Police Force over allegations of conspiracy, forgery, impersonation and the use of false official documents.

The investigation has also drawn in multiple security and anti-corruption agencies, including the Department of State Services (DSS), the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), as authorities seek to determine how the purported councils allegedly infiltrated government institutions, secured official recognition and gained access to public resources using what lawmakers now describe as fabricated government documents.