Tinubu Orders ICPC Probe Into ‘Phantom’ PFIPC, Gives 30-Day Deadline

• Tinubu directs anti-graft agency to unravel alleged forgery, impersonation and financial activities linked to the fake council.
• Investigation to cover forged appointment letters, suspicious bank accounts, visa facilitation claims and possible collaborators.
• Tinubu orders ministries and agencies to cooperate fully as ICPC identifies loopholes exploited in the alleged scheme.

President Bola Tinubu has ordered the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to launch a comprehensive investigation into the activities of the purported Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), describing the body as a non-existent organisation fraudulently presented as a federal government agency.

The President directed the anti-corruption commission to conclude its investigation and submit a detailed report within 30 days.

ATTENTION: Click “HERE” to join our WhatsApp group and receive News updates directly on your WhatsApp!

The directive was conveyed in a statement issued on Tuesday by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.

READ ALSO: Portable Defends Remi Tinubu’s Small Business Advice to Women

According to the Presidency, preliminary findings revealed that the PFIPC was never created by the Federal Government and has no legal backing, executive approval, presidential instrument or statutory authority.

The statement alleged that one Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew falsely presented himself as the Director-General of the council and claimed to be a presidential appointee.

Tinubu directed the ICPC to investigate the circumstances surrounding the alleged fraud, including forged appointment letters, fake government documents, the use of a false presidential designation to obtain official recognition and diplomatic support, including visa facilitation, as well as the opening and operation of bank accounts in the names of purported government agencies.

The President also instructed the commission to widen the investigation beyond the principal suspect to identify every individual or organisation that may have participated in or facilitated the alleged scheme.

According to the Presidency, investigators are expected to determine the origin and use of the forged official documents, examine how any official recognition or diplomatic support may have been obtained, trace the source and movement of funds linked to the operation, and establish whether public officials, private individuals, financial institutions or intermediaries played any role in legitimising the purported council.

Tinubu further directed the ICPC to identify weaknesses within government procedures that may have enabled the alleged impersonation and recommend immediate safeguards to prevent similar occurrences.

To ensure a thorough investigation, the President ordered all ministries, departments and agencies of the Federal Government to provide the commission with every relevant document, record and assistance required to complete its assignment promptly.

He stressed that the Presidency and federal institutions must be protected from impersonation, forgery, abuse of official identity and other schemes capable of undermining public confidence in government.

Tinubu also directed that anyone found culpable at the conclusion of the investigation should be prosecuted in accordance with the law.