…..FRSC Admits Tinubu, Ministers on Website Influenced Verification
The alleged Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) scandal took a dramatic turn as the State House disowned the controversial body and declared all documents linking the Presidency to its creation as forged, while the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) admitted that the appearance of President Bola Tinubu and top government officials on the council’s website influenced its verification process before issuing official government number plates.
The revelations emerged during the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee hearing investigating the alleged fraudulent establishment of the PFIPC and its inclusion in the 2026 Federal Government budget.
Representing the Permanent Secretary (Administration), State House, Director of Administration, Abdulkadir Idris, told lawmakers that the Presidency neither requested a budget code for the council nor had any knowledge of its existence until media reports exposed the controversy.
“We did not send any correspondence or request to the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation regarding this council. We knew nothing about it until we saw reports in the media,” Idris said.
He dismissed as forged all letters purportedly issued by the State House in support of the council, insisting that no official named Akande Adewale or Akanbi Adewale had ever served as Director of Administration or Permanent Secretary in the State House.
Idris further explained that the State House has no department known as the Directorate of Administration and Support Services, describing the designation on the disputed documents as fictitious.
He also stressed that appointments of Directors-General of federal agencies are political appointments conveyed through the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), not the State House.
The committee received official State House records, including authentic letterheads and lists of past Directors of Administration, which had earlier been submitted to the Nigeria Police National Cybercrime Centre as part of investigations.
Chairman of the committee, Hon. Yusuf Adamu Gagdi, said the testimony exposed glaring discrepancies between documents obtained from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation and official State House records.
According to him, the Accountant-General’s Office acted on correspondence purportedly issued by a department that does not exist and signed by a person who was never an official of the Presidency.
Earlier, FRSC Corps Marshal Shehu Mohammed defended the Corps’ decision to issue seven official Federal Government number plates to the purported agency but admitted that the verification process was not thorough enough.
He explained that the applications were submitted on what appeared to be official Federal Government letterheads and were accompanied by establishment documents, the agency’s mandate and vehicle details.
Mohammed said Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, who is currently in police custody, personally presented himself at the FRSC headquarters as Director-General of the agency.
According to the Corps Marshal, FRSC officials also visited the council’s office at the Federal Secretariat, Abuja, verified the vehicles’ chassis numbers, confirmed that statutory fees were paid through the REMITA platform and examined the agency’s website, which carried a Federal Government domain.
He disclosed that the website listed President Bola Tinubu as Chairman of the Governing Board alongside the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and several serving ministers.
However, under questioning by Gagdi, Mohammed admitted that the documents contained obvious irregularities, including the absence of official government security features and the unusual listing of the President and members of the Federal Executive Council as governing board members.
Asked whether those features appeared normal, the Corps Marshal replied, “No.”
He acknowledged that the FRSC did not carry out sufficient due diligence before approving official registration numbers and number plates for the seven vehicles.
Mohammed described the incident as an isolated case and disclosed that the Corps had commenced administrative processes to retrieve all seven official government number plates issued to the fake agency while strengthening its internal verification procedures to prevent a recurrence.
The committee directed the FRSC to provide the current location and status of all vehicles registered under the PFIPC.
Gagdi announced that the investigation would conclude on Wednesday, August 12, with all agencies connected to the matter expected to appear before the panel for the final hearing before lawmakers compile their report and recommendations.
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