By Aaron Ossai
House of Representatives ad hoc Committee established to investigate the fictitious Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) has linked the Director-General of the Agency, Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, to a network of at least 12 organisations, agencies, companies and foundations.
This was disclosed by the Chairman of the ad hoc Committee, Hon, Yusuf Gagdi while presenting preliminary reports of the Committee’s investigation in Abuja yesterday.
The development emerged from information obtained by the committee from financial and investigative institutions as part of its ongoing probe into the activities and financial dealings associated with Adeyemi.
According to the Committee, the Bank Verification Number (BVN) and other identifying details associated with Adeyemi, who was also referred to in some records as Adeyemi Matthew, were linked to a substantial network of personal, corporate, organisational and foundation accounts.
The panel listed 12 entities associated with the identifying information as the Confederation of United Nations Youths; FCT Investment Promotion Agency and Public-Private Partnership; FCT Investment Promotion Council and Public-Private Partnership; Foreign Investment Promotion Agency; United Nations Youth Global Agency; United Nations Youth Global Foundation; World United Nations Youth Global Foundation; World Entrepreneurship University Limited; World Enterprise University Limited; FCT Investment Promotion Act; FCT Promotion Agency; and Olubadan of Ibadan Foundation.
Preliminary financial information, according to the committee, indicated that approximately 58 bank accounts were linked through the relevant identifying information.
The panel said more than 30 of the accounts appeared to have been operated in the names of approximately nine agencies, companies, foundations or related entities.
It added that some of the entities maintained multiple bank accounts, while other accounts were operated using personal names or variations of the names of the entities.
However, the committee stressed that the identification of the accounts and entities did not, by itself, establish that they were involved in unlawful activities.
“The Committee has not concluded that every identified account, entity or transaction was unlawful,” the report stated.
The panel said it was still reconciling registration records, account mandates, beneficial ownership information, signatories and transaction histories to establish the actual nature and control of the entities and accounts.
The investigation has also raised questions over the apparent establishment of multiple organisations bearing similar names and identities.
The committee said similarities in the nomenclature, objectives, management structures, signatories and bank-account relationships of the entities constituted a legitimate area of investigation.
According to the panel, evidence before it suggested that Adeyemi may have been connected, either directly or indirectly, with more than 12 such entities.
The committee is investigating whether the organisations were created or used to project artificial credibility, solicit funds, attract investments, obtain official recognition, secure government facilities or induce members of the public to part with money.
The panel said the investigation would therefore focus not only on the existence of the organisations but also on their ownership structures, sources and uses of funds, activities and relationships with government institutions.
It is expected that further reconciliation of financial records and corporate documentation will determine whether the various entities were independently established and operated or whether they formed part of a coordinated network.
The committee’s findings remain preliminary, with the panel yet to make a final determination on the legality of the accounts, transactions or activities of the entities linked to the PFIPC Director-General.
