Fake agency scandal: Abbas inaugurates probe panel today

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, will today inaugurate an ad hoc committee to investigate the controversial inclusion of the unestablished Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) in the 2026 Appropriation Act.

 

The committee, chaired by Yusuf Gagdi, was constituted following a House resolution to probe how about ₦1.32 billion was allocated to an agency that had not been legally established.

 

The investigation follows the arrest of Adeyemi Adeniyi, who allegedly posed as the Director-General of the PFIPC and is accused of facilitating the agency’s inclusion in the 2026 budget.

 

Adeniyi reportedly alleged that he paid ₦100 million through proxies to the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, to facilitate the agency’s establishment. The allegation has been denied by both the Presidency and Gbajabiamila’s office.

 

The committee has invited key government officials, including the Ministers of Budget, Finance, Industry, Trade and Investment, the Attorney-General of the Federation, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Chairmen of the EFCC and ICPC, the Auditor-General for the Federation, the Head of the Civil Service, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission, the Department of State Services and the Nigeria Police Force.

 

The panel is expected to determine how the PFIPC was included in the 2026 budget despite lacking legal backing and identify the stage in the budget process where the allocation was introduced.

 

However, the exclusion of Gbajabiamila and Adeniyi from the list of invited witnesses has drawn criticism.

 

A member of the committee described the omission as an indication of possible bias, while public affairs analyst Jackson Ojo argued that failing to invite the Chief of Staff could undermine public confidence in the investigation.

 

The House constituted the panel amid public concern over alleged irregularities in the 2026 budget process, particularly the allocation of public funds to an agency the Federal Government maintains does not exist.