A Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) director, Hamisu Abdullahi, has told the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee investigating the alleged creation of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) without a legal foundation that the accounts opened for the agency have remained inactive with zero balance.
Abdullahi, who represented the CBN Governor before the committee on Monday, said the apex bank only opens accounts for federal government ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) after receiving authorisation from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF).
He explained that the CBN, acting as the banker to the Federal Government, does not directly engage MDAs on matters relating to account opening, closure or changes to account details except through the OAGF.
“As a banker to the Federal Government, the Central Bank has responsibility for opening all accounts for Ministries, Departments and Agencies, with the exception of those exempted from the Treasury Single Account,” Abdullahi said.
“We do not have any direct engagement with any ministry, department or agency for account opening, account closure or change of account nomenclature except through the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.”
The CBN director disclosed that the bank received a directive from the OAGF dated July 29, 2025, instructing it to open two domiciliary accounts for the Presidential Economic Advisory Council/Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council.
According to him, the accounts — a United States dollar domiciliary account and a Pound Sterling domiciliary account — were opened on July 30, 2025.
However, he said the accounts have never been operational because the council failed to provide the authorised signatories required for their management.
“Those two accounts remain inactive with zero balance and have never been operated,” he told lawmakers.
Abdullahi added that there had been no financial transactions involving the accounts since their creation.
“There have been no foreign exchange allocations, no remittances, no inflows and no outflows. The accounts have maintained zero balance from inception to date,” he said.
He further stated that the council had no direct communication with the CBN regarding the operation of the accounts.
“The council had no direct correspondence with the Central Bank of Nigeria regarding the operation of the accounts,” he added.
OHCSF Denies Role in Establishment of Council
Earlier, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HOCSF), Didi Esther Walson-Jack, told the committee that her office had no constitutional responsibility for establishing government agencies.
She explained that while the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF) approves administrative structures for federal institutions, the creation of government agencies falls outside its mandate.
“The approval and establishment of agencies is not within the purview of the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation. However, the OHCSF is responsible for approving the administrative structure of federal government agencies,” she said.
Walson-Jack said the council applied for approval of its organisational structure on August 6, 2025, but the request was rejected because the necessary supporting documents were not provided.
She, however, disclosed that during the 2025 annual manpower budget defence exercise, officials of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council/Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council requested approval for an establishment and recruitment waiver.
According to her, the council informed the office that 14 officers, including its Director-General/Chief Executive Officer, were already working with the organisation and sought approval to begin full operations.
She said the request was processed alongside submissions from 87 other MDAs and was later approved as part of the fourth batch of manpower approvals.
The approval covered 314 positions, comprising the 14 existing personnel and 300 additional positions.
However, Walson-Jack said the OHCSF later discovered irregularities in the document presented by the council as its legal backing.
“It was observed that the document presented by the council as its enabling law or legal instrument did not really carry the requisite features,” she told the lawmakers.
She also denied claims that the OHCSF deployed civil servants to the council or provided office accommodation for its operations.
“We wish to state that there was no deployment of staff by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation to the council,” she said.
She added that reports linking the office to the allocation of accommodation at the Federal Secretariat Phase III were inaccurate.
Committee Demands Financial Records
The committee chairman, Hon. Abdulmalik Danga, directed the CBN to submit comprehensive records of all financial transactions connected to both the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council and the Presidential Economic Advisory Council.
“We want details of account activities relating to the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council as well as the Presidential Economic Advisory Council. From the opening of the accounts to their last status, this committee wants the complete records,” Danga said.
The committee also directed the CBN to obtain details of any related accounts operated through commercial banks and submit the information as part of its investigation into the alleged establishment and operations of the council without a valid legal framework.
