The House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee investigating the purported Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council has uncovered 58 bank accounts allegedly linked to its Director-General, Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi.
The committee also identified an alleged N400 million transaction which it said may have involved fraudulent representations by Adeyemi.
Chairman of the committee, Yusuf Gagdi, disclosed the findings Wednesday while presenting the panel’s preliminary report to parliamentary correspondents in Abuja.
The investigation is examining how the purported council was included in the Federal Budget Framework despite questions over its legal status and establishment.
Gagdi said preliminary information obtained from financial and investigative institutions showed that Adeyemi’s Bank Verification Number and other identifying details were linked to a network of personal, corporate, organisational and foundation accounts.
He said more than 30 of the 58 identified accounts appeared to have been operated in the names of about nine agencies, companies, foundations and related entities allegedly connected to Adeyemi.
The entities identified by the committee include the Confederation of United Nations Youths, FCT Investment Promotion Agency and Public-Private Partnership, FCT Investment Promotion Council and Public-Private Partnership, Foreign Investment Promotion Agency and United Nations Youth Global Agency.
Others are United Nations Youth Global Foundation, World United Nations Youth Global Foundation, World Entrepreneurship University Limited, World Enterprise University Limited, FCT Investment Promotion Act, FCT Promotion Agency and Olubadan of Ibadan Foundation.
Gagdi, however, stressed that the committee had not concluded that every account, entity or transaction identified was unlawful.
He said the panel was still reconciling registration records, account mandates, beneficial ownership details, signatories and transaction histories to establish the actual ownership and control of the organisations and accounts.
The committee said it found similarities in the names, objectives, management structures, signatories and banking relationships of several of the entities.
Gagdi said the similarities raised concerns about a possible pattern of creating or using organisations to manufacture credibility, solicit funds, obtain official recognition or induce members of the public to make payments.
Of particular concern is an alleged N400 million transaction involving a company that claimed Adeyemi induced it to make payments in four instalments.
According to the committee, Adeyemi allegedly represented that he could secure a contract for the renovation, furnishing or improvement of an official residence purportedly allocated to him in his claimed capacity as PFIPC director-general.
Gagdi said the committee was tracing the destination of the funds, identifying the account holders and beneficial owners and determining whether any public or private individual participated in or benefited from the transaction.
He said that if established through competent investigative and judicial processes, the allegations could constitute offences including fraudulent misrepresentation, obtaining money by false pretence, impersonation, conspiracy and forgery.
Beyond the financial investigation, the committee said it had found evidence suggesting that the purported PFIPC was never lawfully established.
Gagdi said the panel found no Act of the National Assembly, gazetted enactment, presidential executive order or other lawful instrument creating the council.
He said documents used to project the existence and authority of the organisation contained substantial evidence of alleged fabrication, forgery, mutilation, impersonation and unauthorised representation of Nigerian institutions and public officials.
The committee also identified what it described as alleged fabricated official documents, including a purported presidential appointment letter for Adeyemi, a purported executive order and a document presented as an Act of the National Assembly establishing the organisation.
According to Gagdi, evidence obtained from the State House established that the purported appointment letter was neither issued nor signed by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila.
The committee also said the letterhead and reference number on the document were inconsistent with official State House correspondence.
It consequently exonerated Gbajabiamila from allegations of authorising, establishing or participating in the activities of the purported council.
Gagdi said documentary evidence before the committee did not establish that the chief of staff authorised, approved, established or participated in the activities of the organisation.
He said evidence instead showed that Gbajabiamila communicated with relevant security and investigative agencies after receiving alerts concerning the organisation.
The committee also exonerated National Assembly committees responsible for budget scrutiny from culpability, but said the investigation had raised questions about how an entity that was allegedly not lawfully established secured recognition and budgetary treatment within the Federal Government’s administrative system.
Gagdi said the development exposed weaknesses in the verification of government institutions, creation of administrative and budget codes, authentication of official correspondence and allocation of government facilities.
The purported council allegedly occupied office accommodation within the Federal Secretariat Complex and operated a website presenting it as a Federal Government institution.
The committee also found that the organisation allegedly used the names, offices and photographs of President Bola Tinubu and other senior government officials without authorisation.
About 39 people were reportedly presented as employees of the purported organisation, with the committee examining their recruitment, appointment letters, identity cards, remuneration and allegations that some prospective employees were required to make payments as a condition for employment.
The panel recommended that ministries, departments and agencies immediately stop recognising, transacting with or extending government privileges to the purported PFIPC or any related entity whose legal status had not been independently verified.
It also recommended that no appropriation, administrative code, warrant, cash backing, financial release or government facility should be processed in favour of the purported organisation.
The committee called for the preservation of relevant bank records, transaction histories, account mandates and beneficial ownership information linked to the persons and entities under investigation.
It further urged relevant investigative agencies to conclude criminal and financial investigations and, where sufficient evidence is established, commence prosecution before competent courts.
The panel also recommended the tracing, preservation, freezing and recovery of assets or proceeds derived from any established unlawful conduct, subject to legal requirements and judicial authorisation where necessary.
Gagdi said the committee would continue investigating the ownership and control of the identified accounts, the alleged N400 million transaction, the purported official residence, government accommodation, special number plates and the roles of public and private individuals connected to the matter.
He stressed that the findings were preliminary and did not amount to a final determination of criminal guilt, which remains the responsibility of courts of competent jurisdiction.
The committee is expected to submit its final report to the House after lawmakers return from their annual recess, with the chamber empowered to consider, amend, adopt or reject the recommendations.
Gagdi said the investigation was aimed not only at addressing the activities of the purported council but also at protecting the integrity of government institutions and preventing individuals from falsely assuming governmental authority.
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