The purported Director-General of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), Adeniyi Adeyemi, has opposed plans by the House of Representatives ad hoc committee to question him in police custody at an undisclosed location, insisting that any appearance before lawmakers should be conducted in public.
Adeyemi, through his lawyer, Ademola Oyedokun, said on Wednesday that while his client welcomed the National Assembly’s investigation into the alleged establishment and operations of the PFIPC, he objected to being interrogated outside the committee’s public proceedings.
According to the lawyer, the principles of fairness and transparency require that Adeyemi be given the opportunity to respond publicly to allegations that were made against him during the committee’s open hearings.
“We have read that the committee intends to interview our client at an undisclosed date and place. We ask it, respectfully, to think again,” Oyedokun said in a statement.
He argued that since other individuals connected to the investigation had testified publicly, Adeyemi should be accorded the same opportunity to defend himself.
“Everyone else in this matter has been heard in public, and what has been said about our client was said in public. He should be allowed to answer in the same place it was said,” the statement added.
Oyedokun further urged the House committee to invoke its constitutional powers under Section 89 of the Constitution to direct the police to produce Adeyemi before the committee during a public hearing.
The controversy surrounding the PFIPC has attracted significant public attention, with the House of Representatives continuing its investigation into the council’s alleged establishment and activities.
