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…committee to meet alleged PFIPC DG in police custody over ongoing probe

By Gloria Ikibah

The House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee investigating the alleged establishment and operations of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) on Tuesday heard emotional testimony from a businessman who claimed he lost N400 million after allegedly being deceived into believing he had secured a Federal Government contract.

The committee also summoned the Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) to explain how vehicles allegedly linked to the controversial organisation obtained official Federal Government number plates, while announcing plans to question the alleged Director-General of the council, Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, who is currently in police custody.

Appearing before the panel chaired by Rep. Yusuf Gagdi,  Managing Director of Divine Dopacy Nigeria Limited, Gbenga Collins, narrated how his long-standing acquaintance with Adeyemi and what appeared to be the trappings of government office convinced him that the council was a genuine federal institution.

Collins told lawmakers that he first met Adeyemi in Ogbomoso, Oyo State, during a community event in December 2024 before being invited to Abuja a few weeks later to discuss what was presented as a business opportunity.

According to him, an official vehicle bearing Federal Government registration plates picked him up from the airport and drove him to an office at the Federal Secretariat.

“When I arrived at the airport, he sent an official car to come and pick me from the airport to his office at the Federal Secretariat, Abuja.

“When I got to his office, I met him there. He is a well-known man in Ogbomoso. I met a lot of people, very big dignitaries in his office, and I met a group of security officers guarding the office”, he said.

He said the experience left him with little reason to doubt Adeyemi’s claims that he was the Director-General of both the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC) and  Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council.

Collins said Adeyemi later informed him that he wanted to renovate and furnish what he described as the official residence allocated to him as Director-General and asked whether his company could execute the project.

“I saw police officers with him. That was my first time of coming to Abuja because I’m not familiar with Abuja very well. He sent his official car to pick me from the airport. It had a Federal Government registration number attached to the Lexus SUV.

“He told me that he wanted to do refurbishment and renovation of the official house assigned to him as the DG of that agency and asked whether I would be able to handle the contract.

“He took me to the house to show me the property because I slept in Abuja. We went there the following day with his staff. We went with more than four, five or six vehicles with security. They opened the house and took us round, showing me what they wanted to do”, he added.

Although he could not identify the exact location of the property because he was unfamiliar with Abuja, Collins said he still retained photographs of the building.

He further told the committee that discussions continued until April 2025 when he returned to Abuja and was allegedly handed a contract award letter, scope of work and an agreement between his company and the purported agency.

According to Collins, Adeyemi insisted that he would have to provide N400 million to demonstrate his company’s financial capacity and facilitate mobilisation for the project.

“He gave me the contract award letter, the scope of work and the agreement with my company to execute the refurbishment project.

“I had to pay N400 million for the facilitation of that project to show my strength that I would be able to handle the project. At the same time, he said it would fast-track the mobilisation for the contract”, he disclosed.

He explained that he sourced the money from business associates who trusted his judgement because he had personally visited what appeared to be a functioning government office.

“When I was paying the money, I kept telling him that I collected the money from my colleagues who were doing business with me.

“I was the one who told them I had gone to this man’s office, so I believed it was going to be a great opportunity for us. That was why people started giving me the money”, he said.

Collins further revealed that the money was paid in five instalments between May and July 2025, with N380 million allegedly transferred into a Guaranty Trust Bank account belonging to World Entrepreneurs Limited, while the remaining N20 million was paid into an Access Bank account operated by Sunshine Confectionery and Catering Services.

He said Adeyemi repeatedly assured him that mobilisation will begin in August 2025 but later blamed delays on security concerns before promising payment in November.

“When I finished the payment, he said they were going to do the mobilisation by August.

“I continued calling him. He kept managing me, telling me they were handling security issues and that they would pay in November”, he said.

When nothing happened, Collins said he sought legal advice and was informed that he had allegedly fallen victim to a scam.

“My lawyer was the first person who told me that I had been scammed”, he stated.

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

“The petition was written on the 13th and I was invited to adopt it on the 19th”, he added.

According to him, EFCC investigators later informed him that Adeyemi repeatedly failed to honour invitations, citing ill health through his legal representatives.

“Since then, the EFCC has been trying to invite him. I think he has been sending his lawyer. According to the Investigating Police Officer handling the case, his lawyer kept saying he would appear.

“Since then, I have not heard anything further, but they are on top of the matter. The EFCC will be in the best position to handle the rest”, he noted.

An emotional Collins appealed to the committee to help him recover from the financial setback, saying the incident had devastated both his business and personal finances.

“I just want to beg the Chairman and the honourable members to help me talk to all the agencies involved because I have been frustrated.

“Especially by those people who gave me the money. I have started selling my property. My business is not going well again”, he pleaded.

He insisted that everything he encountered in Abuja suggested he was dealing with a genuine government institution.

“I did all this based on trust. When I went to his office, I met a lot of big dignitaries there, people waiting to see him and people he was discussing contracts with. I also did it because he is from my hometown”, he said.

Responding to questions from lawmakers, Collins denied that the money was a bribe, maintaining that he was told it was a condition for facilitating the contract and securing mobilisation.

He, however, admitted that he did not go through any formal procurement process before accepting the purported contract.

“What I just have to say is to beg the committee, or to implore the committee, to please, in all their capacity, whatever they can use to assist me with the police that are investigating him.

“Because I was invited to the Cybercrime office. He said the same thing, that he did not deny collecting the N400 million”, he revealed.

The testimony prompted members of the committee to question how vehicles linked to the alleged council came to bear official Federal Government registration plates.

Consequently, the committee summoned the FRSC Corps Marshal to appear before it on Thursday to explain the procedures for issuing official government number plates and clarify how the vehicles in question were registered.

Addressing journalists after the session, Committee Chairman Rep. Gagdi explained that the committee had not ignored calls to invite Adeyemi but was constrained by an existing court order keeping him in police custody.

He emphasised that the National Assembly will respect the constitutional separation of powers and will not interfere with ongoing judicial proceedings.

“For the benefit of the general public, we are not refusing to invite Prince Adeniyi here. We have pronounced him to appear here and police have responded that he is in their custody based on the court order.

“As an arm of government, we respect the principle of federalism and separation of powers. We respect the powers of the judiciary, the executive and we equally limit ourselves within our own powers.

“We do not have the power as the National Assembly to vacate an existing court order and say that somebody who is in the custody of the Nigerian Police should leave the police to appear before the National Assembly”, he stated.

Gagdi disclosed that the committee will instead meet Adeyemi privately at an undisclosed time and location to avoid jeopardising ongoing investigations by the EFCC,  Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and other security agencies.

He maintained that the committee’s priority was to establish the facts surrounding the alleged activities of the organisation.

“We will not announce to the general public when we will interact with Prince Adeniyi. We will not, because the ICPC are investigating this matter. EFCC are investigating this matter. Part of this matter is before the court of law and many other agencies.

“To say that we will put the suspect under direct camera and interact with him the way we are interacting with everyone here will definitely undermine the ongoing investigation by the EFCC and ICPC.

“In view of that, we are meeting him on an unannounced date and at an unannounced time. We will meet him with a camera that will exonerate members of the committee on our interaction with him.

“Just as you came here with your lawyer, we will inform the police whenever we are going to meet him and, as directed by the court, it will be in the presence of his lawyers.

“Whether he appears before this committee or this committee appears before him, the most important thing is to have an interaction with him to get some things clarified. And we are going to do just that”, he assured.

Gagdi added that the committee will continue its public hearing on Thursday before concluding its work and presenting a comprehensive report to the House of Representatives.

The committee is investigating the circumstances surrounding the alleged establishment and activities of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council, including allegations of forgery, impersonation, financial impropriety and abuse of public institutions.