A member of the House of Representatives, Yusuf Gagdi (APC, Plateau) [PHOTO CREDIT: IG @yusufadamugagdl] Yusuf Gagdi, chairman of the House of Representatives ad hoc committee investigating the alleged establishment and operations of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), has explained why the panel did not invite President Bola Tinubu’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, despite documents linking him to the controversial agency.
Mr Gagdi, who represents Pankshin/Kanke/Kanam Federal Constituency of Plateau State, said the committee’s investigation was never designed to focus on Mr Gbajabiamila or any other individual but on how an agency without a valid legal foundation allegedly became integrated into the federal government’s administrative and financial systems. He clarified on Wednesday during an interview on Arise Television, hours after the committee released its preliminary findings on the alleged agency.
The committee had cleared Mr Gbajabiamila, a former speaker of the House, when it presented its findings on Wednesday in Abuja. Mr Adeyemi, among other things, has accused the COS of receiving ₦400 million through proxies in connection with appointment to the fake organisation, and abusing and exploiting his office to intimidate individuals and media organisations. Mr Gbajabiamila has since denied the allegations. He also filed a N15 billion defamation suit against Mr Adeyemi.
According to Mr Gagdi, the House gave the committee a broad mandate requiring it to establish, among other things, whether the PFIPC had any legal backing, whether the documents used to establish it were genuine,ne and how it gained access to government facilities and public funds. “Actually, the impression that people have that the entirety of that committee is about Femi Gbajabiamila is not true, she said.
“There are so many issues and terms of reference donated to the committee by the House of Representatives in view of the activities surrounding the unestablished