The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has revealed how a purported government agency, the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), allegedly used official-looking documents and a website listing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and top government officials as board members to obtain federal vehicle number plates.
The Corps Marshal of the FRSC, Shehu Mohammed, made the revelation before the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee investigating the alleged inclusion of fake councils in the 2026 budget.
Mohammed told lawmakers that the commission processed registration documents for seven vehicles belonging to PFIPC after conducting what it considered due diligence, including verifying the organisation’s website, which displayed the names of prominent government officials as members of its Governing Board.
The revelation came during questioning by the committee chairman, Yusuf Gagdi, who expressed concern over how the FRSC failed to detect inconsistencies in the documents submitted by Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Mathew, who is currently in police custody over allegations surrounding the purported agency.
Gagdi questioned the authenticity of the documents and specifically raised concerns about the listing of President Tinubu as board chairman of the organisation.
He said: “We are trying to expose the leakages so that agencies can close these gaps going forward. It is not to indict anybody. Have you ever seen the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria being a member of organisations? Have you ever seen President Bola Ahmed Tinubu appearing as a board member of any institution of government?
“But you saw it in your document that you submitted to us. You saw a mandate that did not have a letterhead or any security features of government. You equally saw the President as the Board Chairman; the Secretary to the Government of the Federation as a board member; the Director-General as a board member; the Head of the Civil Service as a board member; the Governor of the CBN as a board member; the Minister of Finance as a board member; the Minister of Aviation as a board member; the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security as a board member; the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, as a board member; the Minister of Interior as a board member; the Attorney General of the Federation as a board member; the Minister of Budget and National Planning as a board member; the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy as a board member; the Minister of Police Affairs as a board member; the Minister of Transport as a board member; the Minister of Works as a board member; and the Minister of Power as a board member.
“Do these three things — a mandate with no security features, the vision and mission statement, and the composition of the board with Mr President as a member — look normal to you? I need a yes or no answer from you.”
Responding, the FRSC boss admitted that the documents did not appear normal.
“No,” Mohammed replied.
The Corps Marshal explained that the FRSC received letters purportedly issued by PFIPC requesting official number plates for seven vehicles. According to him, the documents were presented by Prince Adeyemi, who introduced himself as the Director-General of the agency.
He said the commission visited the website provided in the correspondence and found information that appeared consistent with a legitimate federal government institution.
“It is important to note that the requests were made using what appeared to be the official letterhead of a Federal Government agency.
“As part of the verification process, the requests were personally delivered to the FRSC Headquarters by Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, who presented himself as the Director-General of the agency. In addition, the Corps visited the official website indicated in the correspondence. The website bore a Federal Government domain and contained information consistent with that of a legitimate Federal Government institution, including the names of prominent public office holders as members of its Governing Board.”
Mohammed added that the requests were accompanied by documents that purported to show the agency’s establishment, mandate and list of vehicles requiring registration.
He, however, admitted that the commission later discovered that PFIPC was not an approved federal government agency.
“This is an isolated case where we did not carry out sufficient due diligence. That is why we are strengthening our internal mechanisms,” he said.
The FRSC boss said the discovery came as a shock to the commission and that steps had been taken to retrieve the official government vehicle number plates issued to the organisation.
“It therefore came as a profound shock to the Corps when it subsequently emerged that the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council was not an approved Federal Government agency and that the representations made by Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi were false. The Corps commends the relevant law enforcement and investigative agencies for their prompt intervention in addressing the matter.
“The FRSC has equally commenced immediate administrative processes to retrieve all the official Federal Government vehicle number plates allocated to the purported agency and has strengthened its internal verification mechanisms to prevent any recurrence of such deception,” the Corps Marshal said.
Meanwhile, the State House also denied knowledge of the alleged council, describing documents linking the Presidency to PFIPC as forged.
The Permanent Secretary (Administration), State House, represented by the Director of Administration, Abdulkadir Idris, said letters allegedly sent from the Presidency requesting the creation of a budget code for PFIPC were not genuine.
“We did not send any correspondence or request to the Office of the Accountant-General for this council. We do not even know anything about this council. We never heard about this council until we started seeing it in the media,” Idris said.
He also faulted agencies that processed the documents without verifying their authenticity.
“Those offices received the letters. They should have carried out due diligence. If they could not write to us for confirmation, they should at least have called. They did not.”
The House committee chairman, Gagdi, said the investigation would continue on August 12, 2026, when more government agencies involved in the matter are expected to appear before the panel.
