The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission has dismissed reports suggesting that the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, was arrested over the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council scandal, insisting that he only honoured an invitation from investigators.
The anti-graft agency clarified this in a statement posted on its Facebook page on Tuesday, following reports that Gbajabiamila visited the commission’s headquarters in Abuja on Monday in connection with the ongoing investigation into the purported PFIPC.
In the statement, the ICPC said the Chief of Staff voluntarily appeared before investigators and was not arrested.
“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 commission said President Bola Tinubu had directed it to investigate how the PFIPC allegedly operated from the Federal Secretariat in Abuja for about two years under Adeniyi Adeyemi, who presented himself as the council’s Director-General.
According to the ICPC, Gbajabiamila arrived at its headquarters on Monday afternoon, responded to investigators’ enquiries and left after giving 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 said.
It added that investigations into the alleged fake agency were ongoing and that further updates would be provided as necessary.
PUNCH Online had earlier reported that Gbajabiamila appeared before the ICPC on Monday after Tinubu directed the commission to investigate the circumstances surrounding the PFIPC, an entity the Presidency has disowned as fraudulent.
The controversy has prompted parallel investigations by the House of Representatives, with several government agencies and officials appearing before lawmakers over how the purported council allegedly secured office space, budgetary allocation and other official documentation.
At a public hearing convened at the National Assembly Complex by the House of Representatives on Monday, the Central Bank of Nigeria admitted that it had opened two foreign-currency domiciliary accounts for the phantom agency.
Speaking before the House’s Ad-hoc Committee investigating the matter, chaired by Yusuf Gagdi and inaugurated by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, the Director of CBN Banking Services Department, Hamisu Ibrahim, said the accounts, one in US dollars, the other in British pounds sterling, were opened following a mandate received 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 told the committee.
He explained the CBN’s verification process, saying, “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 said.
He, however, noted that no one came to activate the accounts after they were opened.
Adeyemi was arrested and is facing prosecution over the matter.
punch.ng
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