The absence of the Chairman of the House of Representatives’ Ad-hoc Committee investigating the controversial Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council/Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PFIPC/PEAC), Hon. Yusuf Gagdi, and other invited stakeholders on Thursday stalled the committee’s ongoing investigation into the alleged multi-billion-naira document forgery and impersonation scandal.
The investigative hearing, which was scheduled to hold at the National Assembly Complex, Abuja, followed a notice sent to Parliamentary Correspondents at about 11:05 pm on Wednesday.
However, Parliamentary Correspondents who arrived at Conference Room 0.36 shortly before the scheduled 2 pm commencement waited for over three hours without the arrival of the committee chairman, members, or invited witnesses.
Although some secretariat staff attached to the committee were present at the venue awaiting the lawmakers and stakeholders, the hearing did not commence as of about 4:15 p.m.
Efforts by our correspondent to reach Hon. Gagdi for clarification proved unsuccessful, as he neither answered telephone calls nor responded to a WhatsApp message seeking an explanation for the development.
The stalled hearing comes barely a day after the committee disclosed that it had uncovered what appeared to be extensive acts of document forgery during its investigation into the controversial PFIPC/PEAC.
Hon. Gagdi had announced that the Ad-hoc Committee would present its preliminary findings to the public next week after concluding engagements with the remaining stakeholders.
According to the lawmaker, “Based on the documentary evidence obtained during the investigation and engagement with the relevant government institutions, the Committee has uncovered what appears to be extensive acts of document forgery and will do further confirmation in-house. Upon completion of the exercise, the committee will brief the general public before formally laying its comprehensive report before the House of Representatives for further legislative action.”
At Wednesday’s hearing, representatives of the Inspector-General of Police, Deputy Commissioner of Police Olufemi Akinola and Assistant Commissioner of Police Bashir Abdullahi, informed the committee that Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Mathew, who allegedly paraded himself as Director-General of the PFIPC, could not be produced because he remained in lawful custody under a subsisting court remand order.
The Police Chief therefore advised the Ad-hoc Committee to obtain a “reproduction warrant from a competent court” before he could appear before the panel.
Responding, Hon. Gagdi clarified that the Police had not refused to honour the Ad-hoc Committee’s invitation but were constrained by the existing court order.
He assured that the Ad-hoc Committee would continue its investigation within the bounds of the law while respecting the judicial process and ensuring that all parties were accorded a fair hearing.
The Ad-hoc Committee had also received testimony from former Director of Federal Projects and Financial Management in the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, Mr. Joshua Luka, who confirmed that the controversial request for an administrative code was conveyed to the State House through a letter signed on behalf of the Permanent Secretary by one Akanbi Adewale, Director of Administration and Support Services.
Mr. Luka, however, recounted how a similar employment racketeering attempt involving forged correspondence in the Office of the First Lady between 2000 and 2005 was uncovered after the agency concerned responded with employment letters for directives that were never issued.
Hon. Gagdi, however, maintained that investigations had shown there was no department known as the Department of Administration and Support Services in the State House and no officer bearing the name Akanbi Adewale as reflected in the disputed documents.
He warned against attempts to drag the State House and the National Assembly into disrepute, insisting that the alleged fraud was orchestrated through forged documents.
“The general public and members of the press should not be carried away by politics or hatred for institutions of government. We should pursue the facts and not the shadows,” he said.
Also appearing before the committee earlier, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Didi Esther Walson-Jack, admitted that her office erred in granting approvals relating to the purported council without carrying out adequate due diligence.
She described the development as unprecedented in the history of the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation and assured the committee of full cooperation as it continues its investigation into the alleged forgery, impersonation and abuse of government processes.
