The House of Representatives Ad hoc Committee investigating the purported Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) has announced plans to interrogate the agency’s Director-General, Aderemi Matthew Adeyemi, at an undisclosed location and date.
Committee Chairman, Yusuf Gagdi, stated that this discrete approach respects the constitutional principle of separation of powers and avoids overriding a subsisting judicial order.
Because Adeyemi is currently in police custody and facing parallel investigations by the EFCC and ICPC, Gagdi emphasized that a public hearing under direct cameras would risk undermining ongoing security and anti-graft probes.
Despite holding the session away from the public eye, Gagdi assured transparency by confirming that the interaction will be recorded on camera to exonerate committee members, and will proceed in the presence of Adeyemi’s lawyers as directed by the court.
The chairman stressed that securing physical attendance at a public hearing is secondary to obtaining vital clarifications, noting that the committee is fully satisfied with meeting the suspect wherever necessary to resolve the inquiry before concluding its engagements for the week.
The legislative panel’s decision follows dramatic testimonies at the public hearing, including disclosures from Mr. Gbenga Collins, Managing Director of Divine Dopacy Nigeria Limited.
Collins testified that he was lured into believing Adeyemi was the legitimate Director-General of both the PFIPC and the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC).
He recounted how visiting Abuja for the first time left him vulnerable to the elaborate facade, which included armed police officers and an official Lexus SUV bearing federal government registration plates sent to pick him up from the airport.
According to Collins, the alleged scam escalated when Adeyemi offered his agribusiness firm a lucrative contract to renovate and furnish the chief executive’s purported official residence.
To demonstrate financial capacity and fast-track contract mobilization, Collins stated he was coerced into paying N400 million to the suspect.
Armed with a formal contract award letter, scope of work, and official agreements provided by Adeyemi, the unsuspecting businessman transferred the massive sum before realizing the entire operation was fraudulent.
