The House of Representatives has raised fresh concerns over alleged institutional failures that allowed the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council to present itself as a federal government body and obtain official vehicle number plates.
The issue emerged during an investigative hearing by an ad hoc committee probing the activities of the PFIPC. Committee chairman Yusuf Gagdi questioned the Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Shehu Mohammed, over the approval of seven number plates for the organisation.
Lawmakers were particularly concerned by documents submitted by the PFIPC which allegedly listed President Bola Tinubu and several senior government officials, including Secretary to the Government of the Federation George Akume and FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, as members of its governing board.
Gagdi said the unusual documents should have prompted the FRSC to independently verify the organisation’s status with the Presidency before approving the request.
Mohammed, however, defended the agency, saying officials followed established procedures. He said the PFIPC submitted applications in April 2025, operated a website on a federal government domain and maintained an office at the Federal Secretariat Complex in Abuja, creating the impression that it was an authentic government institution.
The FRSC later discovered that the organisation was not an authorised federal agency and has begun retrieving the number plates.
The development is particularly embarrassing for government oversight, as the ICPC has recommended the prosecution of the alleged operator, Prince Adeyemi Adeniyi, while identifying institutional lapses across several government agencies.
Although the ICPC cleared the Presidency and Central Bank of wrongdoing, the case highlights worrying weaknesses in the government’s verification systems and raises questions about how easily purported government credentials can pass through official channels.
