A businessman, Gbenga Collins, has told the House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee investigating the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) that he paid ₦400 million to the council’s embattled Director-General, Adeniyi Adeyemi, to facilitate the award of a contract.

Collins made the allegation on Wednesday while appearing before the lawmakers, according to Channels Television.

He told the committee that he travelled to Abuja, where Adeyemi received him in what appeared to be the official setting of a government agency.

According to Collins, Adeyemi later presented him with a contract award letter, the scope of work and an agreement authorising his company to renovate and furnish the Director-General’s official residence.

Collins alleged that Adeyemi instructed him to pay ₦400 million as a facilitation fee to demonstrate his financial capacity to execute the project and to speed up mobilisation for the contract.

Chairman of the ad hoc committee, Yusuf Gagdi, said Adeyemi had not appeared before the panel because he is currently in police custody and is also under investigation by anti-graft agencies. He added that the committee plans to meet with him privately as part of its ongoing inquiry.

The panel also summoned the Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps over official Federal Government number plates allegedly used on vehicles linked to the disputed council.

Lawmakers are investigating the establishment and operations of the PFIPC following allegations that it operated without legal authority.

The controversy began after Adeyemi alleged that the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, demanded 48 per cent of the council’s proposed ₦27.3 billion take-off grant. He also claimed Gbajabiamila received ₦400 million through a proxy and later requested another ₦200 million to facilitate presidential approvals.

Gbajabiamila has denied all the allegations, insisting he has no personal, official or professional relationship with Adeyemi. He also rejected claims that he demanded or received money, interfered with investigations or had any connection to the death of Babatunde Tanimola or an alleged assassination attempt on Adeyemi.

President Bola Tinubu subsequently directed the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate the allegations.

The House of Representatives also established a 12-member ad hoc committee to examine the circumstances surrounding the creation of the PFIPC, its inclusion in the 2026 Appropriation Act and the alleged allocation of about ₦1.3 billion to the council.

Earlier, Budget Office Director-General Tanimu Yakubu told the committee that none of the funds appropriated for the agency had been released or spent because the statutory conditions for disbursement had not been met.