By Dennis Okechukwu
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has confirmed that it opened two foreign currency domiciliary accounts for the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), despite the agency now being under investigation as a fictitious government body.
The disclosure was made on Monday during a public hearing by the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee investigating the existence and operations of the PFIPC.
Representing the apex bank, the Director of Banking Services, Hamisu Ibrahim, told lawmakers that the accounts—one in United States dollars and the other in British pounds sterling—were opened in July 2025 following a formal mandate from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF).
According to him, the CBN verified the mandate before opening the accounts. However, the accounts remained inactive because no authorised signatories, mandate cards or activation documents were ever submitted.
He said the accounts have maintained a zero balance since they were opened and have never recorded any deposits, withdrawals or foreign exchange allocations.
The revelation contradicted an earlier submission by the Accountant-General of the Federation, Shamseldeen Ogunjimi, who had informed the committee that no accounts were opened in the name of the PFIPC.
Also appearing before the committee, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack, denied that her office allocated office space to the council.
She explained that the address reportedly used by the PFIPC at the Federal Secretariat Phase III was officially allocated to the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF), not the council.
Walson-Jack, however, disclosed that the council submitted documents during the 2025 Annual Manpower Budget Defence Exercise, including the appointment letter of its Director-General and details of its mandate. Based on those submissions, an establishment approval for 314 positions and a recruitment waiver were processed alongside requests from other ministries, departments and agencies.
She clarified that her office neither deployed personnel to the council nor approved any recruitment, adding that Patricia Akhigbe, who submitted the documents, had since been invited for questioning by the police.
Following the hearing, the committee directed the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, alongside the Inspector-General of Police, the Ministers of Finance, Foreign Affairs, Justice, Budget and National Planning, the Accountant-General of the Federation and heads of other key government agencies, to appear before it on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, honoured an invitation by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) as part of its investigation into the PFIPC scandal.
His lawyer, Jiti Ogunye, confirmed that Gbajabiamila appeared before investigators on Monday, answered questions and returned to his official duties.
Gbajabiamila’s appearance came as he pursues a ₦15 billion defamation suit against PFIPC promoter Auwal Adeyemi over allegations that he demanded kickbacks from the agency’s proposed take-off grant. The Chief of Staff has denied ever meeting Adeyemi or authorising anyone to act on his behalf.
Adeyemi, who was recently arrested after failing to appear in court, has also denied meeting Gbajabiamila personally. He claimed that although he lobbied for the council’s inclusion in the 2026 budget, he did not pay bribes and was surprised the agency eventually received a ₦1.3 billion allocation.
The scandal has continued to generate political reactions, with some opposition figures calling for a transparent public investigation, while others have urged the Chief of Staff to step aside pending the outcome of the probe.
Adeyemi is scheduled to reappear before the Federal High Court in Abuja on July 27 alongside two co-defendants who remain at large.