Olushola Omogbehin
The House of Representatives ad hoc committee investigating the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) has raised concern over the alleged involvement of President Bola Tinubu and several senior government officials listed in a document as members of the council’s governing board.
The chairman of the committee, Yusuf Gagdi, made the revelation during the panel’s investigative hearing on Thursday when lawmakers questioned Shehu Mohammed, chief executive officer of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), for approving seven vehicle number plates for the PFIPC in spite of apparent irregularities in the council’s application documents.
Speaking, Gagdi said the alleged PFIPC governing board members included President Tinubu; George Akume, Secretary to the Government of the Federation; Nyesom Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory; Mrs. Didi Esther Walson-Jack, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation; Olayemi Kadoso, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria; Lateef Olasunkanmi Fagbemi, SAN, the Attorney-General of the Federation.
Others include the ministers of finance, aviation, agriculture and food security, interior, budget and national planning, marine and blue economy, police affairs, transport, works and power.
Accusing FRSC to have failed to question a document that allegedly named Tinubu and cabinet members as board members,Gagdi noted as well that the purported mandate submitted by the organisation to the FRSC lacked official government security features, yet was accepted as part of the verification process.
“We are trying to expose the leakages so that agencies can close these gaps going forward. It is not to indict anybody,” Gagdi said.
Gagdi also said that the board’s unusual composition and the nature of the documents should have prompted the FRSC to seek independent verification from the presidency and other relevant government institutions before granting the PFIPC’s request.
Defending the FRSC’s actions, Mohammed said that the agency followed its standard operating procedures during the application and verification process.
According to him, the FRSC received the PFIPC’s application on April 4, 2025, followed by a reminder dated April 11. Both documents were signed by Prince Adeyemi Adeniyi.
Speaking further, he said the application contained documents purporting to establish the council, outlining its mandate and governing structure, as well as details of the vehicles for which official number plates were being sought.
The Corps Marshal said FRSC officials also checked the organisation’s website, which operated on a federal government domain, and visited its office at the Federal Secretariat Complex in Abuja. The website and physical office created the impression that the PFIPC was a legitimate federal government organisation.
He said FRSC was subsequently surprised to discover that the PFIPC was not an authorised federal government agency.
The development comes after the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) recommended the prosecution of Adeniyi, the man accused of operating the PFIPC.
Adeniyi had claimed that Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff to President Tinubu, issued his appointment letter. Gbajabiamila, a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, denied the allegation.
The ICPC cleared the Presidency and the Central Bank of Nigeria of wrongdoing but identified institutional lapses across several ministries, departments and agencies.
