The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Monday confirmed that it opened two foreign currency domiciliary accounts for the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), contradicting an earlier claim by the Accountant-General of the Federation that no such accounts existed.
The disclosure was made during a public hearing by the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee investigating the existence and operations of the PFIPC.
The committee is chaired by Yusuf Gagdi and was inaugurated by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas.
Representing the CBN, the Director of the Banking Services Department, Hamisu Ibrahim, told the committee that the accounts, one in US dollars and the other in British pounds sterling, were opened after the bank received a mandate from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.
“On July 30, 2025, we received a mandate dated July 29, 2025, from the Office of the Accountant-General. We received the mandate to authorise two accounts, one a US dollar domiciliary account, the other a pound domiciliary account, for the Presidential Economic Advisory Council/Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council,” Ibrahim reportedly told the committee.
He explained that the CBN followed its standard procedure before opening the accounts.
“The process of opening an account requires a mandate from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.
“Once we receive that mandate, we perform all the necessary verifications to confirm that this mandate is actually coming from that office.
“The department that handles the mandate is different from the department that actually does the account opening,” he said.
Ibrahim, however, said the accounts were never activated because no authorised officials completed the required documentation.
“We did not receive any correspondence, mandate, signature or mandate cards. We were not introduced to the authorising or approving officers.
“Based on that, those accounts remain inactive, with zero balance. There have been no foreign exchange allocations.
“The accounts have maintained zero balance from inception to date and have never recorded any inflow or outflow,” Ibrahim said, adding that a statement of account had been attached to the committee’s records.
The CBN’s testimony directly contradicted an earlier submission by Accountant-General Shamseldeen Ogunjimi, who had told the committee that no accounts were opened in the PFIPC’s name.
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Pinnacle Daily had earlier reported that the Presidency denied knowledge of the council, describing the PFIPC as a fictitious agency and stating that its alleged Director-General, Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, is standing trial for fraud.
The digital news platform cited that the Federal Government allocated N1.3 billion to the PFIPC in the 2026 budget despite the Presidency maintaining that the council does not exist under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
We Never Allocated Office to PFIPC – Walson-Jack
Also appearing before the committee on Monday, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack, said her office never allocated office space to the PFIPC.
She told lawmakers that records in her office showed the space reportedly occupied by the council at the Federal Secretariat Phase III had been officially allocated to the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF), not the PFIPC.
“There is speculation that the council occupied office space in the Federal Secretariat Phase III. We can state categorically that the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation did not allocate any office space to the council.
“The office space indicated as the council’s official address forms part of the office accommodation allocated to the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation for the use of the OSGF and presidential bodies,” she said.
Walson-Jack, however, said that during the 2025 Annual Manpower Budget Defence Exercise, the council submitted additional documents through one Patricia Akhigbe, including the appointment letter of its Director-General and details of its mandate. She said the request was processed alongside those of 87 other ministries, departments and agencies.
According to her, an authorised establishment for 314 positions was later issued to the council, followed by a recruitment waiver a few days later.
She added that Akhigbe had since been invited for questioning by the police and stressed that her office neither deployed staff to the council nor approved any recruitment.
She urged the committee to direct further inquiries to the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
At the end of the hearing, committee chairman Gagdi directed the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, and other top government officials to appear before the panel on Thursday.
“In continuation of this assignment, the secretariat should invite the SGF to appear and brief this committee on the issues raised.
“Also to appear on Thursday are the Inspector-General of Police, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Finance, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice as well as the Minister of Budget and National Planning.”
“Also invited are the Accountant-General of the Federation, heads of the Budget Office of the Federation, Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission, the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission,” he said.
Alex is a business journalist cum data enthusiast with the Pinnacle Daily. He can be reached via ealex@thepinnacleng.com, @ehime_alex on X