ICPC clears Gbajabiamila, says Adeyemi forged PFIPC appointment letter

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has cleared Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, of any involvement in the appointment of Adeniyi Adeyemi as director-general of the purported Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC).

The commission said its investigation found no evidence linking Gbajabiamila, his office or the State House to Adeyemi or the fake agency.

According to the ICPC, Adeyemi personally forged an appointment letter dated March 2024 using a fake State House letterhead and attributed Gbajabiamila’s signature to the document.

The commission also found that Adeyemi was never appointed by the federal government and had no direct engagement with the Chief of Staff regarding the purported appointment.

The investigation followed President Tinubu’s directive for a probe into the PFIPC. In an interim report submitted to the President on August 6, the ICPC said the agency had not been established by any law, executive order or other valid government instrument.

ICPC finds no record of Adeyemi’s appointment

Investigators examined whether Adeyemi had genuinely been appointed, the authenticity of the appointment letter and the role of the Office of the Chief of Staff in appointing political office holders and heads of government agencies.

The commission said the Office of the Chief of Staff does not issue appointment letters to political appointees or heads of ministries, departments and agencies.

Rather, it said the office conveys presidential approvals to the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, which issues the relevant appointment letters.

The ICPC also reviewed official correspondence records of the Chief of Staff’s office, including its dispatch system and Automated Correspondence Management platform, but found no communication involving Adeyemi or the PFIPC between 2024 and September 2025.

The first official inquiry into the PFIPC came in October 2025, when the Office of the National Security Adviser sought clarification on the agency’s status.

After establishing that the PFIPC had no legal basis, the Office of the Chief of Staff wrote to the Inspector-General of Police requesting an investigation.

Fake State House documents

The ICPC said it also discovered that documents used by Adeyemi to portray the PFIPC as a legitimate government agency contained several irregularities.

One of the documents bore the name Akanbi Adewale, purportedly a State House Director of Administration, in a letter seeking an administrative code for the PFIPC from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.

However, investigators found that no State House employee named Akanbi Adewale existed and that the State House had no department called “Administration and Support Services”. The relevant department is known as the Administration Department.

A visual examination also showed differences between genuine State House letterheads and those used in the documents presented by Adeyemi.

The commission said the letterhead lacked security features found on authentic State House correspondence.

A forensic handwriting examination further established that the signature attributed to Adewale was allegedly fabricated by Adeyemi.

The ICPC said the signature purportedly belonging to Gbajabiamila on Adeyemi’s appointment letter also differed from the Chief of Staff’s specimen signature.

Gbajabiamila had previously denied writing, authorising or signing any documents relating to the PFIPC.

Government agencies failed to verify documents

Beyond the alleged forgery, the ICPC identified weaknesses in verification procedures across several government institutions.

The commission said ministries, departments and agencies failed to properly authenticate documents presented by the purported agency before acting on them.

As a result, the PFIPC reportedly secured office space at the Federal Secretariat, opened government accounts and had civil servants deployed to work with it despite having no legal foundation.

The Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation and the Central Bank of Nigeria were among institutions that acted on correspondence from the PFIPC as though it were a legitimate government body.

Adeyemi faces prosecution

Adeyemi has denied wrongdoing and said he would defend himself against the allegations.

He had previously claimed that Gbajabiamila was involved in his appointment and alleged that he paid money to someone he believed was the Chief of Staff.

He later moderated his position, saying he could not state with certainty whether Gbajabiamila was involved in issuing the purported appointment letter.

Gbajabiamila has consistently denied the allegations. He later petitioned law enforcement authorities and filed a ₦15 billion defamation suit against Adeyemi.

The ICPC has recommended Adeyemi’s prosecution for alleged forgery, impersonation and related offences. He is already facing criminal charges alongside two other defendants, who are reportedly at large.

Another suspected fake agency uncovered

The PFIPC investigation also led to the discovery of another suspected fake agency, the National Brands Development and Made in Nigeria Special Project Office, allegedly operating within the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.

President Tinubu has ordered the suspension of three permanent secretaries and the arrest of the alleged promoter of the agency, George Buchi Nwabueze.

ICPC Chairman Musa Aliyu said investigators found that Nwabueze operated under several variations of his name and that suspected collaborators may exist within the OSGF.

The commission said forged legislative instruments were allegedly used to give the entities an appearance of legitimacy and facilitate the opening of bank accounts in their names.

The latest findings have raised fresh concerns over weaknesses in the federal government’s verification and oversight systems that allowed purported government agencies to gain access to official institutions and resources.