The house of representatives ad hoc committee investigating the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) has revealed that several senior government officials were listed as members of the council’s governing board.
Chairman of the committee, Yusuf Gagdi, disclosed this during the panel’s investigative hearing on Thursday when lawmakers grilled Shehu Mohammed, chief executive officer of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), for approving seven vehicle number plates for the PFIPC despite apparent irregularities in the council’s application documents.
Gagdi said those listed as members of the PFIPC’s governing board included President Bola Tinubu; George Akume, secretary to the government of the federation; Nyesom Wike, minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT); head of the civil service of the federation; governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN); attorney-general of the federation; and ministers of finance, aviation, agriculture and food security, interior, budget and national planning, marine and blue economy, police affairs, transport, works, and power.
He said the FRSC failed to question a document that allegedly named Tinubu and cabinet members as board members.
He also noted that the purported mandate submitted by the organisation to the FRSC lacked official government security features, yet was accepted as part of the verification process.
“We are trying to expose the leakages so that agencies can close these gaps going forward. It is not to indict anybody,” Gagdi said.
Gagdi said the board’s unusual composition and the nature of the documents should have prompted the FRSC to seek independent verification from the presidency and other relevant government institutions before granting the PFIPC’s request.
Corps Marshal and Chief Executive of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC)
Shehu Mohammed, told the committee that the FRSC complied with its standard operating procedures throughout the application process.
The corps marshal explained that the FRSC received the council’s application on April 4, 2025, followed by a reminder dated April 11, both signed by Prince Adeyemi Adeniyi.
He said the application was accompanied by documents purporting to establish the council, detailing its mandate, governing structure and the vehicles for which official number plates were requested.
Mohammed said officials also examined the organisation’s website, which bore a federal government domain, and visited the council’s office at the federal secretariat complex in Abuja.
The corps marshal said both the website and the physical office gave the impression that the council was a legitimate government agency.
Mohammed added that officials also verified the vehicles’ chassis numbers before approving the allocation of the number plates.
He said the FRSC was surprised when it later emerged that the PFIPC was not an authorised federal government agency.
Mohammed added that the FRSC has commenced the retrieval of all official number plates issued to the organisation and has strengthened its verification procedures to prevent a recurrence.
