•Nigerian Senate
The Senate has, for the second time, rejected a motion seeking an independent legislative investigation into the controversy surrounding the Presidency and the alleged Director-General of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council/Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PEAC/PFIPC), Adeniyi Adeyemi.
The controversial matter, which has dominated public discourse for more than two weeks, was again brought before the upper chamber today by Senator Suleiman Kawu, reports Channels TV.
Senator Kawu, who made a similar request last week without success, sought to raise the matter under matters of urgent public importance.
However, the Senate declined to consider the motion.
Ruling on the request, the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, said it would be inappropriate for the Senate to initiate a separate investigation since the matter is already before a court and that President Bola Tinubu has directed the ICPC to investigate the allegations within 30 days.
“In my view, the issue has been overtaken by events as the culprit has been charged to court. It is now sub judice to attempt to go into it again. Mr President has already directed an investigation. If we go into it now, we will probably be jumping the gun,” Akpabio said.
Despite the Senate’s position, Kawu maintained that the National Assembly has a constitutional responsibility to carry out its own oversight, regardless of the executive’s actions.
The Senate’s resolution came after police authorities arrested Adeniyi Adeyemi, the self-acclaimed ‘director-general’ of the disputed agency, following the arrest order issued by Justice Umar of the Federal High Court on an oral application made by the police lawyer, Wisdom Madaki.
Adeyemi had been billed to take his plea on an eight-count charge relating to forgery, fraud, and impersonation.
But Justice Umar asked security agencies to arrest and produce the defendant before the court on September 30 for arraignment.
The alleged ‘director-general’ is accused of forging an appointment letter purported to have been issued by President Bola Tinubu and signed by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila.
He is also being accused, among others, of forging presidential letter-headed papers on March 8, 2024.
The federal government is alleging that he falsely personates as “the Director General of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council” as well as forging a request for office space, purported to be from the State House.
Adeyemi had paraded himself as the director-general of the council, with photos of himself and prominent Nigerians circulated on social media.
He also claimed to have given money to Gbajabiamila to secure the appointment, a claim the presidency, in a strongly worded rebuttal, denied.
“Let the court take its course. Since my lawyers are involved, everybody will follow us. They will monitor the whole thing. Then let the court of competent jurisdiction do what they need to,” the embattled ‘DG’ had said during an edition of Channels Television’s Politics Today.
Amid growing concerns over the matter, President Tinubu directed the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to institute a probe.
“Among the issues to be investigated by the ICPC are the forged appointment letters and other official government documents; the use of a false claim of presidential appointment to seek or obtain official recognition and diplomatic support, including visa facilitation; and the opening of multiple bank accounts in the names of purported government agencies using allegedly forged documents,” the statement, by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga read in part.
