The House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee investigating the alleged unlawful establishment and operations of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) on Monday summoned the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP),IGP Tunji Rilwan Disu, the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Chief Lateef Olasunkanmi Fagbemi and several other top government officials and agencies as part of its investigation.
The Chairman of the committee, Rep. Yusuf Adamu Gagdi, made the disclosure at the inaugural sitting of the panel shortly after it was inaugurated by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, at the National Assembly Complex, Abuja.
Other officials and agencies summoned include the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu Minister of Finance, Taiwo Oyedele Minister of Budget and National Planning, Sen. Abubakar Atiku Bagudu
Accountant-General of the Federation, . Shamseldeen Babatunde Ogunjim Budget Office of the Federation, Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), and the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC).
The committee was constituted by the House to investigate the circumstances surrounding the alleged establishment and operations of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council without a valid legal framework and to determine how the council was captured in the Federal Budget Framework despite concerns over its legal status.
Addressing members of the committee and invited stakeholders, Gagdi said the assignment before the panel was significant and would be carried out with fairness, professionalism, impartiality and strict adherence to the Constitution.
He said the committee had been mandated to objectively examine the circumstances surrounding the creation of the council, determine whether due constitutional and statutory procedures were followed, engage all relevant stakeholders, carefully review available evidence, and submit its findings and recommendations to the House.
According to him, “Our mandate is to objectively examine the circumstances surrounding the alleged establishment and operations of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council, determine whether due constitutional and statutory processes were followed, engage all relevant stakeholders, carefully review the available evidence, and submit appropriate findings and recommendations to the House.”
He assured Nigerians that every individual and institution connected with the investigation would be accorded a fair hearing, stressing that the committee’s proceedings would be guided by the principles of natural justice, transparency and due process.
“We shall approach this assignment with an open mind, guided only by the Constitution, the law, credible evidence, and the overriding national interest,” Gagdi said.
The committee chairman also pledged that the panel would conduct its work without bias or prejudice, saying its report would assist the House in strengthening democratic institutions, reinforcing the rule of law and promoting accountability in public administration.
Earlier while inaugurating the committee, Speaker Abbas said the House decided to set up the investigative panel following widespread public interest and concerns over the legal status, institutional mandate, operational framework and funding of the PFIPC.
He noted that the committee was not established to validate speculation or pursue political interests but to establish the facts surrounding the council’s existence and operations.
“The House of Representatives has therefore not constituted this Committee to validate speculation or amplify controversy. Neither is this a political exercise. Our objective is simply to establish the facts,” Abbas said.
The Speaker outlined the committee’s terms of reference, directing it to determine whether there was any legal basis for the establishment and operation of the council; investigate the processes leading to its creation and whether they complied with the Constitution and extant laws; and examine its mandate, powers, governance structure, funding sources and relationship with existing statutory agencies.
He also directed the committee to investigate how the council was included in the Federal Budget Framework, identify the approvals and authorisations that led to its inclusion, and determine whether due budgetary processes were followed.
In addition, the panel is expected to assess whether the council duplicated the statutory functions of existing government institutions, receive memoranda from ministries, departments and agencies, constitutional bodies, experts, civil society organisations and members of the public, and recommend legislative and administrative reforms to prevent future institutional ambiguities and safeguard public resources.
Abbas urged all invited public officials and stakeholders to cooperate fully with the committee by providing complete and truthful information.
He charged the committee to conduct its assignment with fairness, protect the rights of all witnesses, follow the evidence wherever it leads, and ensure that its conclusions are guided solely by facts, the Constitution and the law.
“The credibility of parliamentary oversight rests not on the conclusions it reaches, but on the integrity of the process by which those conclusions are reached,” the Speaker stated.
The committee is expected to conclude its investigation and submit its report and recommendations to the House of Representatives for further legislative action.
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