PFIPC Scandal: Gbajabiamila Was Invited, Not Arrested — ICPC

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has dismissed reports that the Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila, was arrested over the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) scandal, clarifying that he only honoured an invitation from investigators.

The anti-graft agency made the clarification in a statement issued on Tuesday, following reports that Gbajabiamila visited its headquarters in Abuja on Monday as part of the ongoing investigation into the alleged fake council.

According to the commission, the Chief of Staff voluntarily appeared before investigators to provide a statement and was not detained.

“The Commission confirms that the Chief of Staff’s visit was on the invitation of its investigators and consistent with its ongoing efforts to gather all relevant facts in the matter.

“He was not arrested; he simply willingly honoured an invitation,” the statement read.

The ICPC said President Bola Tinubu directed the commission to investigate the circumstances surrounding the PFIPC, which allegedly operated from the Federal Secretariat in Abuja for about two years under Adeniyi Adeyemi, who presented himself as the council’s Director-General.

It stated that Gbajabiamila arrived at the commission’s headquarters on Monday afternoon, responded to questions from investigators and departed after making his statement.

“The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) confirms that the Chief of Staff to the President, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila, was at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja on Monday, 20th July, 2026, to give a statement in connection with the ongoing investigation into the circumstances surrounding the purported Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC),” the statement added.

The commission said investigations into the alleged fake agency were ongoing and assured that further updates would be provided when necessary.

The development comes after President Tinubu directed the ICPC to investigate the PFIPC, an entity the Presidency has disowned as fraudulent.

The controversy has also sparked a parallel investigation by the House of Representatives, with several government agencies and officials appearing before lawmakers to explain how the purported council allegedly secured office space, budgetary allocations and other official documentation.

At a public hearing held on Monday by the House Ad-hoc Committee investigating the matter, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) disclosed that it opened two foreign currency domiciliary accounts for the PFIPC.

The Director of the CBN Banking Services Department, Hamisu Ibrahim, told the committee that the accounts—one in United States dollars and the other in British pounds sterling—were opened after the bank received a mandate from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.

“On July 30, 2025, we received a mandate dated July 29, 2025 from the Office of the Accountant-General. We received the mandate to authorise two accounts, one a US dollar domiciliary account, the other a pound domiciliary account, for the Presidential Economic Advisory Council/Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council,” Ibrahim said.

Explaining the bank’s procedure, he added, “The process of opening an account requires a mandate from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.

“Once we receive that mandate, we perform all the necessary verifications to confirm that this mandate is actually coming from that office.

“The department that handles the mandate is different from the department that actually does the account opening.”

He, however, stated that the accounts were never activated because no individual came forward to complete the activation process.

Meanwhile, Adeniyi Adeyemi has been arrested and is currently facing prosecution over the alleged PFIPC fraud.