Weak Systems Helped Adeyemi Set Up ‘Fake Agency,’ Says ICPC Boss
The Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, Musa Aliyu, has said weak institutional controls enabled the embattled fake Director-General of the disowned Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council, Adeniyi Adeyemi, to establish the agency and manipulate government processes.
The ICPC chairman said the case demonstrated how loopholes in Nigeria’s public sector could be exploited by individuals to perpetrate corruption and gain access to government processes.
He stressed the need to strengthen institutional controls and ensure that government officials exercise due diligence when presented with official-looking documents.
“Recently, we have seen what happened on the issue of the vacancy. The system is very, very big. That was why an individual, allegedly, was able to build the system and to get documents to pass through various agencies, and for the agencies to act without due diligence,” Aliyu said.
According to him, some documents presented to government officials should immediately raise suspicion and prompt further checks before any action is taken.
“Sometimes, we get all these documents. There is a document when you see it, you don’t need anybody to tell you that, ‘Look, I need to do further’,” he said.
Aliyu warned that the ability of individuals to exploit institutional weaknesses posed a serious threat to the country, particularly its efforts to attract foreign direct investment.
He said strengthening government systems would help prevent the manipulation of public processes and the diversion of public resources.
The ICPC chairman’s comments come amid the controversy surrounding the PFIPC, which the Federal Government has disowned.
Following public outcry President Bola Tinubu ordered the ICPC to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the activities of the fictitious Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, which the Presidency said was never established by the Federal Government.
In a statement issued on July 7 by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, Tinubu ordered the anti-corruption agency to investigate the activities of the fake council and submit a report within 30 days.
The Presidency said the investigation should cover the alleged use of forged appointment letters and official government documents by one Adeniyi Adeyemi, who allegedly presented himself as the Director-General of the non-existent council while falsely claiming to be a presidential appointee.
The probe also includes allegations that Adeyemi used the false claim to seek official recognition and diplomatic support, including visa facilitation, and allegedly opened multiple bank accounts in the names of purported government agencies using forged documents.
Submitting its report on August 6, the ICPC cleared the Presidency of any wrongdoing in the saga, while recommending the prosecution of the council’s promoter, Adeyemi.
