President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to conduct a thorough investigation into the activities of the controversial Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) and all related matters.
The President directed that the investigation be concluded and a comprehensive report submitted to him within 30 days.
The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, made this known in a statement on Tuesday.
The directive followed the discovery of the fictitious PFIPC, which was never established by the Federal Government of Nigeria and has no basis in any law, presidential instrument, executive approval, or other lawful act of the government.
One Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew presented himself as the Director-General of the so-called PFIPC and falsely claimed to be a presidential appointee.
Among the issues to be investigated by the ICPC, according to Onanuga, are the forged appointment letters and other official government documents; use of a false claim of presidential appointment to seek or obtain official recognition and diplomatic support, including visa facilitation; and opening of multiple bank accounts in the names of purported government agencies using allegedly forged documents.
President Tinubu directed the ICPC to investigate not only the conduct of the principal individual and other collaborators involved, but also the wider circumstances that may have enabled a fictitious body and a false claim of presidential appointment to acquire an appearance of official legitimacy.
The investigation is to examine the provenance and use of false official documents; processes through which official recognition or diplomatic support may have been sought or obtained; opening and operation of any related bank accounts; source and movement of any funds involved; and role of any public officer, private individual, financial institution, intermediary, or other person or entity that may have facilitated, enabled, or participated in the alleged scheme.
The President further directed the Commission to identify any weaknesses in government and institutional procedures that may have been exploited and to recommend immediate measures to prevent the recurrence of similar abuses.
All Ministries, Departments, and Agencies of the Federal Government have been directed to provide the ICPC, upon lawful request, with all relevant information, records, and assistance required for the expeditious completion of the investigation.
President Tinubu stated that the integrity of the Presidency and the institutions of the Federal Government must be protected against impersonation, forgery, abuse of official identity, and exploitation of weaknesses in the public service.
He directed that all persons found culpable be treated strictly in accordance with applicable laws.