PFIPC probe: Kalu says he was misled by alleged fake presidential council

Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, has revealed that he unknowingly granted an audience to Adeniyi Adeyemi, self-proclaimed Director General of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), after receiving what appeared to be official correspondence bearing the Presidential letterhead.

Kalu made this known on Wednesday during a plenary session while contributing to a motion calling for a full investigation into the alleged activities of the council, which the Presidency has since declared non-existent.

Expressing concern over the incident, the Deputy Speaker said he was among several public officials who were deceived by the group’s legitimacy.

“I rose this morning to support the motion that has been so kindly moved by my friends and brothers from Plateau State. It is quite embarrassing that people show such courage, moving with nothing, carrying themselves as if they are a legal entity,” he said.

Narrating how the meeting took place, Kalu explained that his party received a letter dated May 2, 2025, which carried the official Presidential insignia and identified the sender as the Director General of the President’s Economic Advisory Council and the President’s Foreign Intervention Promotion Council.

“On May 2 2025, my office received a letter. The letter had Presidential written on the letterhead. It contained the Office of the Director General, the President’s Economic Advisory Council, and the President’s Council for the Promotion of Foreign Intervention. Two councils under one Directorate General,” he said.

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Although he considered some aspects of the correspondence unusual, Kalu said some details in the letter gave the impression of its authenticity, including an address at the Federal Secretariat Complex and an official-looking government website.

“When I saw this, I saw the letterhead. I saw the Federal Secretariat Complex, Phase 3, Floor 2, Central Business District. I also saw the website, pfipc.gov.ng. It was a bit confusing to me. Some of the information seemed credible, some didn’t,” Kalu said.

The Deputy Chairman revealed that before agreeing to the meeting, he instructed his staff members to verify the address provided by the organization.

“I sent my team to go and verify the presence of this organization at that address. They came back and confirmed that this organization was at that location. I then gave them approval to come and carry out the interactions they had written down,” he said.

According to Kalu, the group requested the meeting on the pretext of discussing constitutional amendments, legislative priorities, economic governance and possible collaboration with the National Assembly to attract foreign investment.

“They said they wanted to discuss the 10th DPR Constitutional Amendment process and its implications for economic governance, legislative priorities that could increase investor confidence, and areas of collaboration between the National Assembly and the Council to encourage foreign investment,” he said.

However, he noted that the discussion took an unexpected turn after the visitors arrived.

“When they came and started getting involved, the issues they mentioned in the letter weren’t the issues they were involved in. They didn’t talk about the Constitution that we amended. They talked more about taking photos.”

Kalu said the experience highlights the need for stricter verification procedures for individuals and organizations claiming to represent government agencies.

“This shows that a beautiful letterhead bearing the Presidency is no longer a confirmation that an institution is legitimate. It shows that an address showing the Federal Secretariat does not mean that the institution is legitimate,” he said.

He urged lawmakers to support a proposed investigation into the council’s allegations, and emphasized the legislature’s constitutional responsibility to uncover how the organization operated.

“It is our duty, under Articles 88 and 89 of the Constitution, to dig deeper into this matter. I urge members to support this motion of the House to show Nigerians that we support transparency and accountability in government,” Kalu added.

The Presidency’s alleged Foreign Intervention Promotion Council became the subject of national controversy after it appeared among the beneficiaries in the Appropriation Act of 2026 despite the Presidency’s repeated assertions that there is no such agency in the Federal Government.

The controversy intensified after the National Assembly passed the 2026 budget containing allocations to the council, raising questions about how an institution then not recognized by the Presidency could be included in the federal budget.

The Presidency later stated that President Bola Tinubu had not approved the formation of the council or appointed anyone to lead it.

Following the revelations, the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, petitioned security agencies over alleged impersonation of the Presidency and use of government documents, prompting investigations by the Nigerian Police and other security agencies.

Adeyemi was later arrested and charged with nearly the same charges as forgery, impersonation, and related offenses. But he denied any wrongdoing and insisted that all the documents in his possession were obtained legally.

Amid growing public concern over the inclusion of the council in the 2026 budget, President Tinubu directed the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offenses Commission (ICPC) to investigate the circumstances surrounding the alleged insertion of the body into the Appropriations Act and identify all those involved, with a view to prosecuting anyone found guilty to the fullest extent of the law.