Gagdi explains why committee did not summon Gbajabiamila for questioning
Yusuf Gagdi, chairman of the Nigerian House of Representatives’ special committee, stated that the panel did not summon President Bola Tinubu’s Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila for questioning because the investigation primarily concerned the circumstances surrounding the establishment and operation of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC). This was reported by Premium Times Nigeria.
According to Gagdi, the committee was to determine whether the PFIPC had legal grounds for its establishment, whether its founding documents were genuine, and how the body gained access to state institutions and public funds. He stressed that the investigation had not been focused on Gbajabiamila or any other individual from the outset.
Committee mandate
Gagdi said that the committee placed notices in national publications and invited the public and relevant institutions to submit memoranda and documents. Its primary task, he said, was to establish who created the PFIPC and under what authority.
He noted that Nigerian state institutions may be established by an act of the National Assembly or, where constitutional grounds exist, by an executive act. During the review, the committee found documents and correspondence mentioning Gbajabiamila. At the same time, Gagdi said this did not make the president’s chief of staff the central subject of the investigation.
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The committee chairman added that a person may be invited to provide explanations if a petition or memorandum has been filed against them. The alleged PFIPC chief executive officer, Adeyemi, among other things, accused Gbajabiamila of receiving 400 million naira through intermediaries in connection with an appointment to the body. Gbajabiamila denied the allegations and filed a 15 billion naira defamation lawsuit against Adeyemi.
Preliminary findings
The committee said it found no law of the National Assembly establishing the PFIPC, although documents submitted to it claimed otherwise. According to the panel’s preliminary findings, a document presented as an enabling law, a letter allegedly ordering the agency to begin operations under the Office of the President, and a letter appointing Adeyemi were forged.
The committee also reported that during its preliminary review it traced 58 bank accounts allegedly linked to Adeyemi through his bank verification number. Some of these accounts, according to the panel, were linked to 12 different institutions. Documents on certain aspects of the case were provided by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the Anti-Corruption Commission, the State Security Service and the Nigerian police, which, according to the committee, are already conducting their own investigations.
Gagdi noted that the released report is preliminary. The committee plans to continue its work and submit a full report to the House of Representatives after additional checks.
