The ministry was not involved in any diplomatic, bilateral or multilateral activities undertaken by PFIPC…it neither facilitated foreign investors nor coordinated delegations or partnerships through the council
By Moses Okorie
The Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs has distanced itself from the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), declaring that it has no official relationship with the organisation and never approved its activities or endorsed its proposed international investment summit in Nigeria.
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Umar Ahmed, made the clarification on Tuesday while appearing before the House of Representatives ad hoc committee investigating the controversy surrounding the PFIPC and the N1.3 billion allocated to the council in the 2026 budget.
Ahmed told lawmakers that the ministry had no involvement in any of the council’s activities and had deliberately declined requests from the organisation after carrying out due diligence.
The PFIPC has been at the centre of controversy over questions surrounding its legitimacy and the alleged appointment of its purported Director General, Adeniyi Adeyemi. The matter has also drawn the attention of the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila.
Adeyemi had claimed that his appointment was approved by Gbajabiamila, an assertion the Chief of Staff has consistently denied. The Presidency has also maintained that the appointment letter bearing Gbajabiamila’s signature was forged and said the matter had been reported to security agencies.
The alleged PFIPC Director General was arrested by operatives of the Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT) in Osun State on July 14. The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has also questioned Gbajabiamila as part of its ongoing investigation into the controversy.
Giving details of the ministry’s dealings with the council, Ahmed disclosed that the ministry received three separate letters from Adeyemi, who identified himself as PFIPC Director General, requesting collaboration and endorsement for a proposed World Investment Summit in Nigeria.
He said the letters were submitted on June 26, 2025, August 5, 2025, and June 5, 2026, but the ministry declined to act on the requests after conducting preliminary verification.
According to the Permanent Secretary, inconsistencies discovered in the correspondence, together with concerns over the legitimacy of the council, prompted the ministry to withhold any form of engagement.
Ahmed further revealed that the ministry sought clarification from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) in October 2025 on the status of Adeyemi and the PFIPC.
He said ONSA subsequently informed the ministry that checks with the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF) and the Office of the Chief of Staff found no record linking Adeyemi to any recognised federal government institution.
“The ministry was not involved in any diplomatic, bilateral or multilateral activities undertaken by PFIPC,” Ahmed told the committee, adding that it neither facilitated foreign investors nor coordinated delegations or partnerships through the council.
He further stated that the ministry had no record of any agreements, memoranda of understanding or official documents signed between PFIPC and any foreign government.
Ahmed also noted that Nigerian diplomatic missions abroad had no dealings with the council and received no directives from the ministry regarding its operations.
According to him, apart from the letters submitted by Adeyemi, the ministry possesses no additional records relating to PFIPC and has never maintained any formal relationship with the organisation or its alleged leadership.
The hearing is part of the House of Representatives’ ongoing investigation into the operations, legitimacy and funding of the PFIPC.
Earlier during the proceedings, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Esther Walson-Jack, informed lawmakers that the office space occupied by the council at the Federal Secretariat in Abuja had originally been allocated to the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.