The House of Representatives Ad hoc Committee investigating the activities of the purported Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) has said it will interrogate the agency’s Director-General, Aderemi Matthew Adeyemi, at an undisclosed location in compliance with the principle of separation of powers.
The committee said it would not compel Adeyemi, who is currently in police custody, to appear at its public hearing in view of an existing court order and ongoing investigations by security and anti-corruption agencies.
Chairman of the committee, Yusuf Gagdi, disclosed this during the panel’s sitting on Tuesday.
Gagdi said the National Assembly respected the powers of the judiciary and would not attempt to override a subsisting court order directing how Adeyemi should be handled.
“As an arm of government, we respect the principle of federalism and separation of powers. We respect the powers of the judiciary, the executive and we equally limit ourselves within our own powers.
“We do not have the power as the National Assembly to vacate an existing court order and say that somebody who is in the custody of the Nigerian Police should leave the police to appear before the National Assembly,” he said.
The lawmaker said the committee would meet Adeyemi at an unannounced date and location to avoid compromising investigations being conducted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and other agencies.
He explained that the interaction would be recorded to protect members of the committee and would take place in the presence of Adeyemi’s lawyers and with the knowledge of the police, in line with the court’s directive.
“We will not announce to the general public when we will interact with Prince Adeniyi. We will not, because the ICPC are investigating this matter. EFCC are investigating this matter. Part of this matter is before the court of law and many other agencies,” Gagdi said.
He added that the committee’s primary objective was to obtain clarifications from Adeyemi rather than insist that he appear physically before the panel.
“Whether he appears before this committee or this committee appears before him, the most important thing is to have an interaction with him to get some things clarified. And we are going to do just that,” he said.
Gagdi also said the public hearing would continue on Wednesday, while outstanding engagements would be concluded within the week.
Meanwhile, the Managing Director of Divine Dopacy Nigeria Limited, Gbenga Collins, told the committee that he allegedly paid N400 million to Adeyemi after being offered a contract to renovate and furnish what was presented to him as the official residence of the purported PFIPC director-general.
Collins said his company, established in October 2017, operates in the agribusiness sector, sourcing agricultural produce from farmers for export.
He told the lawmakers that Adeyemi presented himself as the Director-General of both the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC) and the PFIPC.
According to Collins, it was his first visit to Abuja and he initially had no reason to doubt Adeyemi’s claims because of the security personnel, government vehicles and office environment surrounding him.
“I saw police officers with him. That was my first time of coming to Abuja because I’m not familiar with Abuja very well. He sent his official car to pick me from the airport. It had a federal government registration number attached to the Lexus SUV,” he said.
Collins said Adeyemi later told him that he had been allocated an official residence which required renovation and furnishing, and offered his company the contract to execute the project.
He said Adeyemi demanded N400 million as proof of his company’s financial capacity and to facilitate mobilisation for the contract.
“He gave me the contract award letter, the scope of work and the agreement with my company to execute the refurbishment project.
“I had to pay N400 million for the facilitation of that project to show my strength that I would be able to handle the project. At the same time, he said it would fast-track the mobilisation for the contract,” Collins told the committee.
