The House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee investigating the purported Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) has identified about 58 bank accounts allegedly linked to its Director-General, Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi.
The committee also raised concerns over an alleged ₦400 million transaction involving a company that reportedly made payments after Adeyemi allegedly claimed he could help secure a contract relating to the renovation, furnishing or improvement of a property said to have been allocated to him as an official residence.
The findings were disclosed by the Chairman of the committee, Yusuf Gagdi, on Wednesday while presenting the panel’s preliminary report to parliamentary correspondents in Abuja.
According to Gagdi, information obtained from financial and investigative institutions indicated that Adeyemi’s Bank Verification Number and other identifying details were connected to a network of personal, corporate, organisational and foundation accounts.
More than 30 of the accounts identified by the committee appeared to have been operated in the names of about nine agencies, companies, foundations or other entities allegedly associated with Adeyemi.
Among the organisations identified were 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 and World United Nations Youth Global Foundation.
Other entities mentioned included World Entrepreneurship University Limited, World Enterprise University Limited, FCT Investment Promotion Act, FCT Promotion Agency and Olubadan of Ibadan Foundation.
Gagdi stressed that the committee had not determined that all the accounts, organisations or transactions identified during the investigation were illegal.
He said the panel was still examining registration documents, account mandates, beneficial ownership records, signatories and transaction histories to determine the actual ownership, control and purpose of the various entities and accounts.
However, the committee said it had observed similarities in the names, objectives, management structures, signatories and banking relationships of several of the organisations.
According to Gagdi, these similarities raised questions about whether some of the entities may have been established or used to create an appearance of legitimacy, attract funding, secure official recognition or persuade members of the public to make payments.
The alleged ₦400 million transaction has emerged as one of the key issues being examined by the committee.
Gagdi said the company involved allegedly claimed that Adeyemi persuaded it to make payments in four instalments after representing that he could facilitate a contract connected to a purported official residence allocated to him in his claimed capacity as Director-General of the PFIPC.
The committee is now tracing the movement of the funds, identifying the account holders and beneficial owners, and determining whether any public official or private individual participated in or benefited from the transaction.
Gagdi said that if the allegations are established through appropriate investigative and judicial processes, they could potentially amount to offences including fraudulent misrepresentation, obtaining money by false pretence, impersonation, conspiracy, forgery and offences involving the concealment or movement of proceeds of crime.
Beyond the financial investigation, the committee has also questioned the legal existence of the purported Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council.
According to Gagdi, the panel’s preliminary findings indicate that it has not found an Act of the National Assembly, gazetted legislation, Presidential Executive Order or other recognised legal instrument establishing the council.
The committee is therefore continuing its investigation into how the purported council came to be recognised or included in the Federal Budget Framework and the circumstances surrounding its operations.
The panel is expected to conduct further reviews before submitting its final recommendations to the House of Representatives.
