The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has told the house of representatives ad hoc committee probing the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) that it acted on a directive from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) to open accounts for the council.
The disclosure comes amid growing scrutiny over the legal status, operations, and budgetary allocation to the council, widely described as “phantom.”
A CBN director, Hamisu Abdullahi, who represented the governor at the hearing, said the apex bank received a formal mandate dated July 29, 2025, from the OAGF to open two domiciliary accounts—one in U.S. dollars and another in British pounds—for the council.
According to him, the accounts were opened on July 30, 2025, after due verification of the mandate.
“Once we receive a mandate from the OAGF, we carry out necessary verification and proceed with account opening. Two domiciliary accounts were opened accordingly,” Abdullahi said.
He, however, clarified that the accounts have remained inactive since inception due to the council’s failure to provide authorised signatories.
“There have been no inflows, outflows, remittances, or foreign exchange transactions. The accounts have maintained zero balance,” he added.
Abdullahi further explained that the CBN does not deal directly with Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) on such matters, noting that all account-related processes are routed through the OAGF.
Meanwhile, the OAGF has denied that the council operated any account with the apex bank, contradicting the Presidency’s earlier claim that the accounts were fraudulently opened using fake documents.
The controversy has also drawn in the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), which recently questioned the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, over allegations made by the council’s self-acclaimed Director-General, Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi.
Adeyemi had alleged that he paid N400 million to Gbajabiamila through a third party to secure his appointment and that the Chief of Staff demanded 48 per cent of the council’s proposed N27.3 billion take-off grant. Gbajabiamila has denied the allegations and filed a N15 billion defamation suit against Adeyemi.
Further findings revealed that the council was allocated over N1.3 billion in the 2026 budget, raising questions about how it was included without legislative scrutiny.
Testifying before the committee, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Esther Walson-Jack, stated that her office has no constitutional role in establishing government agencies.
She explained that while the office approves administrative structures, it does not create agencies.
Walson-Jack disclosed that the council had applied for approval of its organisational structure in August 2025, but the request was denied due to incomplete documentation.
She added that although the council later sought manpower approval during the 2025 budget defence, subsequent reviews revealed irregularities in its purported enabling documents.
“It was observed that the document presented as its legal instrument lacked the required features,” she said.
The Head of Service also denied deploying staff to the council or allocating office space to it.
In response to the ongoing probe, the House committee has directed the CBN to submit full records of any financial transactions linked to the council.