By Mercy Aikoye
The House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee investigating the alleged activities of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC) and the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) has directed the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, to produce the alleged suspected promoter of the controversial councils, Adeyemi Martin, before the panel on Wednesday.
The move followed new evidence from the Nigeria Police Force and the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation suggesting that official government documents may have been forged to confer legitimacy on the alleged councils.
Chairman of the committee, Hon. Yusuf Gagdi, said Martin needed to appear before the committee to enable lawmakers confront him with the documents linked to the investigation and clarify issues surrounding the alleged councils.
“This committee evidently needs the suspected Director-General to appear before it,” Gagdi said, stressing that the investigation touches on the credibility of public institutions and individuals whose names were allegedly used without authorisation.
Following this, The committee directed its clerk to formally notify the Inspector-General of Police to ensure Martin appears before the lawmakers by noon on Wednesday.
During the proceedings, an Assistant Commissioner of Police, Basir Abdullahi, representing the Inspector-General, informed the committee that the police had concluded investigations and filed an eight-count charge against Martin at the Federal High Court.
According to Abdullahi, the suspect was arrested and arraigned, but details of the ongoing criminal proceedings could not be fully disclosed so as not to prejudice the case before the court.
The police further revealed that the investigation was triggered by a petition from the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President dated October 17, 2025, alleging that Martin falsely presented himself as the Director-General of both PEAC and PFIPC.
Investigators told the committee that Martin allegedly used the purported office to secure accommodation at the Federal Secretariat, sought approval to recruit about 300 personnel, attempted to include about ₦1.3 billion in the 2026 Appropriation Act for the alleged agency and initiated plans for a World Investment Summit.
The hearing took a dramatic turn when lawmakers compared signatures on documents purportedly issued by the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President with authentic official documents obtained during the investigation.
Responding to questions from the committee, the police representative confirmed that the signatures did not match.
“They are not the same,” Abdullahi said.
The committee said the discovery further strengthened suspicions that official government documents were forged to give legitimacy to the alleged councils.
The chairman stated that investigators had identified 29 suspected forged documents, including letters, approvals and what was purported to be an Act of the National Assembly establishing the agency.
He added that the documents were allegedly attributed to several government institutions, including the State House, the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Federal Ministry of Finance and other agencies.
According to him, representatives of the affected institutions who appeared before the committee had denied issuing the documents in question.
Gagdi assured that the House would conclude its investigation on its own and make recommendations based on the evidence before it, with a view to protecting the integrity of public institutions and ensuring that anyone found culpable is held accountable.
