The House of Representatives ad hoc committee investigating the activities of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) has raised concerns over documents that allegedly listed President Bola Tinubu and several top government officials as members of the organisation’s governing board.
The concerns were raised on Thursday during an investigative hearing where the committee questioned the Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Shehu Mohammed, over the issuance of seven official vehicle number plates to the PFIPC despite what lawmakers described as apparent irregularities in the organisation’s documentation.
Chairman of the committee, Rep. Yusuf Gagdi, said the documents presented by the PFIPC named President Tinubu, Secretary to the Government of the Federation George Akume, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory Nyesom Wike, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Attorney-General of the Federation, as well as the ministers of Finance, Aviation, Agriculture and Food Security, Interior, Budget and National Planning, Marine and Blue Economy, Police Affairs, Transport, Works and Power as members of the council’s governing board.
Gagdi questioned why the FRSC failed to verify the authenticity of such claims before approving the issuance of official number plates.According to him, the unusual composition of the purported governing board and the nature of the documents submitted should have prompted the agency to seek clarification from the Presidency and other relevant government institutions.
“We are trying to expose the leakages so that agencies can close these gaps going forward. It is not to indict anybody,” Gagdi said.
The lawmaker also questioned why the FRSC accepted documents that allegedly lacked official government security features, arguing that they should have triggered additional scrutiny.
Responding to the committee, FRSC Corps Marshal Shehu Mohammed maintained that the agency followed its standard operating procedures before approving the request.
He explained that the FRSC received the PFIPC’s application on April 4, 2025, followed by a reminder dated April 11, both signed by Prince Adeyemi Adeniyi.
According to Mohammed, the application contained documents outlining the council’s purported mandate, governing structure and details of the vehicles requiring official number plates.
He added that officials visited the organisation’s office at the Federal Secretariat Complex in Abuja and also checked its website, which operated on a federal government domain, creating the impression that the council was a legitimate government agency.
Mohammed said the agency also verified the chassis numbers of the vehicles before issuing the official number plates. He, however, noted that the FRSC later discovered that the PFIPC was not an authorised federal government agency.
The Corps Marshal disclosed that the agency has commenced retrieving all official number plates issued to the organisation and has strengthened its verification procedures to prevent a recurrence.
The development follows recommendations by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) that Prince Adeyemi Adeniyi, accused of operating the PFIPC, should be prosecuted. Adeniyi had claimed that the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, issued his appointment letter, an allegation the former Speaker of the House of Representatives has denied.
While the ICPC cleared the Presidency and the Central Bank of Nigeria of any wrongdoing, it identified institutional lapses across several Ministries, Departments and Agencies, including the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, the Budget Office and the National Information Technology Development Agency.
