By Ajibola Olaide, JKNewsMedia, Report
GOVERNMENT APPROVAL processes for the now-disowned Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) were allegedly facilitated by several civil servants who helped its director-general, Adeniyi Adeyemi, gain access to official financial and administrative systems, an interim investigation by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has found.
JKNewsMedia.com reports that the ICPC investigation identified one Rose Achem, senior administrative officer to the director-general of the Budget Office of the Federation; Patricia Akhigbe, an assistant director in the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning; and Mimi Abu, director of organisation design and development at the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF), as officials involved in securing an authorised establishment and recruitment waiver for the purported council.
The ICPC also said Adeyemi began seeking formal recognition within government structures in November 2024, when he approached the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) for an administrative code, self-accounting status and approval to open accounts with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
He was also said to have supported the applications with purported official documents, including an appointment letter, an establishment instrument and a letter on State House letterhead allegedly signed by Akanbi Adewale.
However, ICPC investigators said they found that Akanbi Adewale did not exist. A forensic examination also established that Adeyemi himself signed the letter attributed to Adewale.
Despite the irregularities, the documents were used to process the applications, the investigation found.
The ICPC investigation, as reported by Premium Times, also examined the roles of Achem, Akhigbe and Abu in facilitating the purported council’s application for authorised establishment and recruitment waiver through the OHCSF.
Investigators said they also found that Achem introduced Akhigbe to Abu as the head of human resources of the PFIPC, despite Akhigbe being an assistant director in the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning.
Achem and Akhigbe subsequently met Abu on behalf of the PFIPC and presented what investigators described as forged establishment instruments and a forged appointment letter for Adeyemi.
Adeyemi also reportedly paid Akhigbe N500,000 during Easter in 2025. Evidence described the payment as a “thank you for your support”.
The ICPC said the authorised establishment was granted on the same day the three officials met.
It found no evidence that the PFIPC had formally applied for an authorised establishment and recruitment waiver, adding that the three officials proceeded with the approvals outside the required process.
The commission said it also examined Abu’s role because her department is responsible for authorised establishment, manpower requirements and recruitment waivers for federal government organisations.
The department oversees four units responsible for establishment and workforce planning, organisation design, job design and development, and rules and regulations.
Abu reportedly described the controversial appointment letter, said to have been issued by the Chief of Staff to the President, as an “aberration” when she spoke to investigators.
She also said she could not recall another government organisation presenting an appointment letter signed by the Chief of Staff.
The ICPC further examined the role of Aminu Abdullahi, an official responsible for office allocation within the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF).
Abdullahi coordinated the allocation of offices to political appointees within the OSGF.
Requests for office allocation are submitted to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, processed through the Permanent Secretary, General Services Office, and then referred to the Director, General Services, for necessary action.
The investigation found that Ibrahim Abdulkadir, a deputy director in General Services, introduced Abdullahi to Adeyemi in March 2025 to guide the PFIPC director-general through the process of obtaining office accommodation at the Federal Secretariat.
The introduction came after a request made on behalf of the PFIPC to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had not produced the expected result.
Investigators found that Abdullahi allocated offices previously occupied by former Chief Economic Adviser to the President, Doyin Salami, at Federal Secretariat Phase III for temporary use by the PFIPC without written approval.
An analysis of Abdullahi’s bank statement by investigators also showed that he received N3.25 million from Adeyemi in three tranches between March and November 2025.
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