Alleged Fake Agency Prob: Contractor reveals How He Paid ‘PFIPC DG’ N400m for Bogus Renovation Contract

…As Reps summon FRSC Corps Marshal over FG number plates

The House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee investigating the alleged illegal establishment and operations of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) on Tuesday heard how the Managing Director of Divine Dopacy Nigeria Limited, Mr. Gbenga Collins, allegedly paid N400 million to the council’s purported Director-General, Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, in anticipation of securing a renovation contract.

Collins, who appeared before the committee chaired by Hon. Yusuf Gagdi, said he was convinced PFIPC was a legitimate Federal Government agency after visiting its office at the Federal Secretariat in Abuja and seeing official vehicles, security personnel and prominent visitors.

The businessman, who hails from Ogbomoso like Adeyemi, said they first met during a community event in December 2024 before Adeyemi invited him to Abuja in early 2025 for what he described as a business opportunity.

According to Collins, an official government vehicle bearing Federal Government number plates picked him up from the airport and conveyed him to Adeyemi’s office, where he was introduced as Director-General of the PFIPC and the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC).

He told lawmakers that Adeyemi later offered his company a contract to renovate and furnish what was presented as the official residence of the PFIPC Director-General. He said he was taken to inspect the property alongside Adeyemi’s aides and security personnel.

Collins further told the committee that Adeyemi subsequently issued him a contract award letter, scope of work and agreement, but demanded N400 million as proof of his company’s financial capacity and to facilitate mobilisation for the project.

Believing the contract was genuine, Collins said he sourced funds from business associates and paid the N400 million in five instalments between May and July 2025.

According to him, N380 million was paid into a Guaranty Trust Bank account belonging to World Entrepreneurs Limited, while the remaining N20 million was transferred into an Access Bank account belonging to Sunshine Confectionery and Catering Services.

He said Adeyemi repeatedly assured him that mobilisation for the project would commence in August 2025 but later blamed security concerns for the delay before promising payment in November.

When the assurances failed to materialise and Adeyemi allegedly stopped responding to his calls, Collins said he consulted a lawyer who informed him he had likely been defrauded.

He disclosed that his lawyer petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on November 13, 2025, adding that he formally adopted the petition six days later.

According to Collins, the EFCC has since commenced investigations and traced the accounts that received the funds, but Adeyemi allegedly failed to honour repeated invitations from the anti-graft agency, reportedly citing ill health through his lawyer.

Appealing to the lawmakers, Collins said the incident had left him financially ruined, forcing him to sell his property while struggling to repay business associates who contributed the funds.

“I have been frustrated. I have started selling my property. My business is not going well again,” he told the committee.

He maintained that he acted in good faith because everything he encountered—including government vehicles, security personnel and official-looking offices—gave the impression that Adeyemi was a genuine government official.

During the hearing, Chairman of the committee, Hon. Yusuf Gagdi, questioned whether the N400 million amounted to a bribe paid to secure the contract.

Collins denied offering any bribe, insisting the payment was presented to him as a prerequisite for facilitating the contract and securing mobilisation.

He, however, admitted under questioning that he did not follow the statutory public procurement process before accepting the purported contract.

Meanwhile, the committee announced plans to interrogate Adeyemi, who is reportedly in police custody, and summoned the Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) over the alleged use of Federal Government number plates linked to the fake agency as investigations continue.