The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has uncovered the identities of some civil servants who allegedly helped Adeniyi Adeyemi, the director-general of the now-disowned Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), to obtain government approvals and gain access to official financial and administrative systems.
This was contained in the ICPC interim investigation report on the PFIPC saga.
The findings by the ICPC revealed that Adeyemi was able to penetrate government structures through the help of forged documents and officials in several government institutions who processed its requests and facilitated approvals despite gaps in the required procedures.
Adeyemi began seeking formal recognition within government structures in November 2024 when he approached the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) for an administrative code, self-accounting status and approval to open accounts with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), supporting the applications with purported official documents, including an appointment letter, an establishment instrument, and a letter on State House letterhead allegedly signed by one Akanbi Adewale.
However, ICPC investigators found that Akanbi Adewale did not exist. Forensic examination also showed that the letter attributed to him was signed by Adeyemi.
Despite these irregularities, the documents were used to process the applications.
According to Premium Times, the investigation probes the critical roles played by three civil servants in securing an authorised establishment and recruitment waiver for the PFIPC.
The civil servants include Rose Achem, senior administrative officer to the director-general of the Budget Office of the Federation; Patricia Akhigbe, an assistant director in the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning; and Mimi Abu, director of organisation design and development at the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF).
The findings revealed that Achem introduced Akhigbe to Abu as the head of human resources of the PFIPC, even though Akhigbe was an assistant director in the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning.
The ICPC found that Achem, Akhigbe and Abu subsequently facilitated the purported council’s application for authorised establishment and recruitment waiver through the OHCSF.
Adeyemi, it was found, paid Akhigbe 500,000 naira during Easter in 2025. The payment was described in the evidence as a “thank you for your support.”
According to the anti-corruption agency, the authorised establishment was granted on the same day the three officials met.
No evidence existed that the PFIPC had formally applied for an authorised establishment and recruitment waiver. Instead, the three government officials proceeded with the approvals outside the required process.
The ICPC examined Abu’s role because her department is responsible for authorised establishment, manpower requirements and recruitment waivers for federal government organisations.
It said Abu oversees four units responsible for establishment and workforce planning, organisation design, job design and development, and rules and regulations.
The investigation found that Achem and Akhigbe met Abu on behalf of the PFIPC and presented what investigators described as forged establishment instruments and a forged appointment letter for Adeyemi.
Speaking to investigators, Abu reportedly described the controversial appointment letter, said to have been issued by the Chief of Staff to the President, as an “aberration”.
She added that she could not recall another government organisation presenting an appointment letter signed by the Chief of Staff.
The ICPC also examined the role of an official responsible for office allocation within the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF) named Aminu Abdullahi.
According to the ICPC findings, Abdullahi was responsible for coordinating the allocation of offices to political appointees within the OSGF.
Requests for office allocation are submitted to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, processed through the Permanent Secretary, General Services Office, and subsequently referred to the Director, General Services, for necessary action.
It was gathered that a deputy director in General Services, Ibrahim Abdulkadir introduced Abdullahi to Adeyemi in March 2025 to guide the PFIPC ‘DG’ through the process of obtaining office accommodation at the Federal Secretariat after a request made on behalf of the PFIPC to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had not produced the expected result.
Investigators found that Abdullahi allocated offices previously occupied by the former Chief Economic Adviser to the President, Doyin Salami, at the Federal Secretariat Phase III for temporary use by the PFIPC without written approval.
An analysis of Abdullahi’s bank statement by Investigators showed that he received 3.25 million naira from Adeyemi in three tranches between March and November 2025.
