The National Security Adviser (NSA), the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, and other senior government officials are expected to appear before the House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee investigating the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) today (Thursday).
Also invited are the Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF), the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Inspector-General of Police (IGP).
The panel, chaired by Yusuf Gagdi, is investigating the legal basis, operations, funding and inclusion of the council in the 2026 federal budget.
Other officials expected before the committee include the chairmen of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
The Auditor-General for the Federation, Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) and Chairman of the Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC) were also invited.
The committee is expected to question the officials on their institutions’ knowledge of, or dealings with, the council.
The investigation followed the discovery that more than ₦1.3 billion was reportedly appropriated to the PFIPC in the 2026 budget despite questions surrounding its legal status and mandate.
Lawmakers are examining how the body was created, the officials connected to it and the process through which it secured a budgetary allocation.
They are also investigating the council’s membership, funding arrangements and alleged use of official government correspondence.
Abbas Demands Fact-Based Investigation
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, inaugurated the ad hoc committee on Monday. Abbas charged the lawmakers to conduct a fact-based investigation rather than rely on speculation.
He stressed that every government institution must derive its existence and authority from a valid legal framework.
At the committee’s inaugural sitting, representatives of the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation gave evidence concerning the council.
A director at the CBN, Hamisu Abdullahi, who represented the bank’s governor, told lawmakers that two domiciliary accounts were opened for the Presidential Economic Advisory Council/Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council.
According to him, the accounts were created after the apex bank received a mandate from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation on July 30, 2025.
Abdullahi said the accounts, denominated in United States dollars and British pounds, had never been operated.
He explained that they remained dormant with zero balances because the council failed to provide authorised signatories.
The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack, also told the committee that her office did not establish the council or deploy civil servants to work there.
She said the PFIPC had approached her office seeking approval for an organisational structure and manpower.
However, Walson-Jack disclosed that officials later detected irregularities in the documents presented by the council as its legal foundation.
