Deputy Speaker Kalu recounts being duped by fake council director-general during official meeting

Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Benjamin Kalu revealed he was deceived into meeting a man who claimed to be the Director-General of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), after receiving what appeared to be an official letter dated May 2, 2025, bearing the Presidency's letterhead. The document, which listed an office at the Federal Secretariat Complex in Abuja and included the website pfipc.gov.ng, introduced Adeniyi Adeyemi as the head of both the PFIPC and the Presidential Economic Advisory Council. Kalu said his staff verified the address before the meeting and confirmed an office was present, leading to the audience being granted. During plenary on Wednesday, he recounted that the delegation did not discuss constitutional amendment or economic governance as stated in their request, but instead focused on taking photographs. He described the incident as evidence that official-looking letterheads, physical offices and government-style websites can no longer be taken as proof of legitimacy. The Presidency has disowned the PFIPC, which appeared as a beneficiary in the 2026 Appropriation Act despite never having been established. President Bola Tinubu has directed the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate how the council was included in the budget and to identify those involved in the alleged fraud. Kalu urged lawmakers to support a motion for a comprehensive investigation into the council's operations and how it gained public credibility.

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