*But accounts remained dormant

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Monday July 21 told the House of Representatives ad-hoc committee investigating the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) that it opened two foreign currency accounts for the council based on a directive from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF).

It also maintained that it was not required to seek evidence of an enabling law establishing the council before processing the request.

Representing the CBN Governor before the committee chaired by Rep. Yusuf Gagdi, the Director, Banking Services Department, Hamisu Ibrahim, disclosed that the accounts, denominated in United States dollars and British pounds sterling, were never funded or operated.

Ibrahim said the bank received a formal mandate dated July 29, 2025, from the Accountant-General’s office, directing it to open the accounts for the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC)/PFIPC.

“We received a mandate from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation dated July 29, 2025, to open two domiciliary accounts, one in dollars and the other in pounds, for the Presidential Economic Advisory Council/Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council,” he said.

Responding to lawmakers’ questions on whether the CBN demanded an enabling Act before opening the accounts, Ibrahim said such a requirement did not arise under the circumstances.

“We don’t ask for an enabling Act. We received a mandate from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation to open the accounts for the council,” he stated.

He further told the committee that although the accounts were successfully opened, they had remained dormant since inception.

“The accounts have never been operated. There has never been any inflow or outflow of funds. No foreign exchange allocation was made to the council and no transaction was carried out on the accounts,” Ibrahim said.

According to him, both accounts were opened with zero balances and have remained so.

“The statements of account submitted to the committee clearly show there were no transactions,” he added.

Ibrahim also noted that the CBN had no direct dealings with the controversial council apart from acting on the mandate transmitted by the Accountant-General’s office.

The PFIPC controversy erupted after the Presidency, through the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, disowned both the PFIPC and the Presidential Economic Advisory Council, stating that neither body was established by the Federal Government, nor authorised by President Bola Tinubu.

The Presidency subsequently identified Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, who allegedly presented himself as the council’s Director-General, as the principal promoter of the scheme. He was accused of using forged government documents, including a purported appointment letter bearing the forged signature of the Chief of Staff, to gain official recognition for the organisation.

Investigations further revealed that the council allegedly used the documents to engage several government institutions, including the OAGF, the CBN and the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.

The body was also reported to have secured office space within the Federal Secretariat, sought staff recruitment and deployment, and obtained an allocation of about N1.3 billion in the 2026 Appropriation Act despite lacking any legal backing.

Following the revelations, President Tinubu directed the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate the matter, while the Federal Government arraigned Adeyemi and two others before the Federal High Court in Abuja on charges of forgery, impersonation and obtaining by false pretence.

The House of Representatives thereafter constituted the Yusuf Gagdi-led ad-hoc committee to determine how the controversial council secured recognition within government institutions and was included in the 2026 budget.