President Bola Tinubu has ordered the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate the "Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council" (PFIPC), a body that doesn't actually exist. The directive came after public uproar over allegations that Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew used forged federal documents to pose as the organisation's director general.
Matthew allegedly used fake papers to secure office space at the federal Secretariat in Abuja and opened bank accounts in the fictitious agency's name at the Central Bank of Nigeria. Tinubu vowed that anyone found guilty would face the full force of the law.
The president gave the ICPC 30 days to complete its investigation and submit findings to him, according to a statement from Bayo Onanuga, his special adviser on information and strategy. Onanuga confirmed the PFIPC was never established by the Nigerian government and has no legal backing of any kind.
Matthew falsely presented himself as a presidential appointee and leveraged the fake position to seek diplomatic support and visa facilitation. The scheme appears designed to give the non-existent body an air of official credibility.
The ICPC must probe several specific matters. These include the forging of appointment letters and government documents, the fraudulent use of a presidential appointment claim to gain official recognition, and the opening of multiple bank accounts using allegedly forged paperwork.
Tinubu also wants investigators to look beyond Matthew's conduct and examine how such a fictitious operation managed to gain apparent legitimacy. The commission should trace where forged documents came from and how they were used.
The probe will also examine how official recognition or diplomatic backing may have been obtained, track bank account operations and fund movements, and identify anyone who may have helped the scheme succeed. This includes public officers, private individuals, financial institutions and intermediaries.
The ICPC is expected to pinpoint gaps in government procedures that the fraudsters exploited. It should then recommend immediate steps to stop similar abuses happening in future.
Tinubu instructed all federal ministries, departments and agencies to cooperate fully with the ICPC. They must hand over all relevant documents, records and information the commission needs to work quickly.
The president stressed that the presidency and federal institutions must maintain their integrity. The fake council scheme represented a serious threat to that standing.
