A Director at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Hamisu Abdullahi, has told the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee investigating the alleged establishment of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) without a valid legal framework that the apex bank only opens accounts for government agencies upon receiving formal approval from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF).

Abdullahi, who represented the CBN Governor before the committee on Monday, explained that the bank does not have direct dealings with Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) on account opening, closure or change of 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,” he said.

He added that, “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 official disclosed that the apex bank received a mandate from the OAGF dated July 29, 2025, to open two domiciliary accounts for the Presidential Economic Advisory Council/Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council.

According to him, the accounts, one United States dollar domiciliary account and one Pound Sterling domiciliary account, were opened on July 30, 2025.

He, however, informed lawmakers that the accounts remained inactive because the council failed to provide authorised signatories required for their operation.

“Those two accounts remain inactive with zero balance and have never been operated,” Abdullahi stated.

He further disclosed that there had been no financial activities linked to the accounts, including foreign exchange allocations, remittances, inflows or outflows.

“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.

The CBN director also told the committee that the apex bank had no direct correspondence with the council 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.

Earlier, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Didi Esther Walson-Jack, told the committee that the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF) had no constitutional responsibility for establishing government agencies.

She explained that while the office approves administrative structures of federal agencies, the establishment of such 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.

The OHCSF representative disclosed that the council had submitted a request for approval of its organisational structure on August 6, 2025, but the request was not granted because the required documents were not provided.

She, however, stated that during the 2025 annual manpower budget defence exercise, officials of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council/Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council requested an authorised establishment and recruitment waiver.

According to her, the council informed the office that 14 officers, including the Director-General/Chief Executive Officer, were already working with the body and sought approval to commence full operations.

She added that the request was processed alongside those of 87 other MDAs and later approved as part of the fourth batch of manpower approvals.

The approval provided for 314 positions, comprising 14 existing officers and 300 additional positions.

However, the OHCSF disclosed that it later discovered irregularities in documents submitted by the council as its enabling legal instrument.

“It was observed that the document presented by the council as its enabling law or legal instrument did not really carry the requisite features,” the representative told lawmakers.

The Head of Service also denied deploying civil servants to the council or allocating office accommodation to it.

“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 incorrect.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the committee, Hon. Abdulmalik Danga, directed the CBN to provide comprehensive records of all financial transactions linked to 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 directed.

The committee also ordered the apex bank to obtain details of any related accounts operated in commercial banks and submit the records as part of efforts to conclude investigations into the alleged establishment and operations of the council without a valid legal framework. (Vanguard)

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