PFIPC probe: Reps to question Accountant-General over ₦1.32bn budget

The House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee investigating the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) is expected to question the Accountant-General of the Federation, Shamseldeen Ogunjimi, on Monday over the agency’s inclusion in the 2026 federal budget.

The hearing is part of an ongoing investigation into how the council received over ₦1.32 billion in the appropriation despite the Federal Government maintaining that the agency does not legally exist.

The committee, led by Yusuf Gagdi, is looking into the circumstances that allowed the PFIPC to operate within government structures. Lawmakers are examining how the council reportedly secured office space at the Federal Secretariat in Abuja and how it obtained an official government budget code that made its inclusion in the 2026 Appropriation Act possible.

During the hearing, Ogunjimi is expected to explain the process through which the agency was captured in the federal budget and the role of his office in approving or processing the allocation. The lawmakers hope his testimony will help clarify how public funds were assigned to an agency whose legal status has been questioned.

The committee has already received submissions from several senior government officials, including the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack, the Director of Banking Services at the Central Bank of Nigeria, Abdullahi Hamisu, and the Director-General of the Budget Office, Tanimu Yakubu. Their appearances form part of the effort to establish how the council operated within government institutions.

The investigation gained more attention after the arrest of Adeyemi Adeniyi, who allegedly presented himself as the Director-General of the PFIPC. Investigators are also examining allegations that he claimed to have paid ₦400 million through an intermediary to the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, to obtain the appointment.

The Presidency and Gbajabiamila have denied any connection with Adeniyi and rejected claims linking them to the alleged appointment. They have maintained that Adeniyi is not connected to the government and described him as an impostor.
As the investigation continues, the committee is also expected to hear from other top government officials, including the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, Inspector-General of Police Olatunji Disu, Minister of Foreign Affairs Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy Taiwo Oyedele, and Attorney-General of the Federation Lateef Fagbemi. Their testimonies are expected to help lawmakers determine how the PFIPC operated and how it secured public funds despite questions surrounding its legal status.