By The Metro 
The Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) handled a request for office accommodation from the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), months before the Presidency declared the agency non-existent.
Documents obtained by The Punch show that the SGF’s office received a request from the council’s self-styled Director-General, Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, acknowledged it and forwarded it to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for further action.
The records show that Adeyemi wrote to the SGF on November 7, 2024, seeking office accommodation from recovered Federal Government properties. The letter was received by the SGF’s office on November 12 before it was forwarded to the EFCC on November 21.
In the forwarding letter, signed by the Permanent Secretary, General Services Office, Nnamdi Maurice Mbaeri, on behalf of the SGF, the office told the EFCC that three government institutions had requested office accommodation from recovered Federal Government properties.
The letter identified one of the requests as Ref. No. SH/DG/PFIPC/RQ/107, dated November 7, 2024, from the Director-General of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council.
It stated, “I am directed to forward the attached copies of letters requesting allocation of office accommodation from the recovered Federal Government landed properties for further necessary action.”
In his letter, Adeyemi presented the PFIPC as a Federal Government investment promotion agency.
He claimed that the council “also serves as the resource and coordinating centre for the Nation’s Foreign Investment Promotion activities – a One-Stop-Shop for Investments centre coordinating investment-related activities across ministries, departments and agencies and promoting Nigeria as a preferred investment destination.”
According to the letter, the council “facilitates the interaction between public and private sectors, and has an active role in policy advocacy and promotes a positive image of Nigeria as a country that is attractive to foreign investors.”
Adeyemi is currently facing trial over allegations that he operated a fictitious government agency, forged a presidential appointment letter said to have been signed by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, and falsely presented himself as the Director-General of the PFIPC.
On Wednesday, the Presidency maintained that the PFIPC was fictitious.
In a statement titled, “Re: The Matter of Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew and the Fictitious Presidential Economic Advisory Council,” the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, outlined the allegations against Adeyemi and insisted that the council was not a recognised government agency.