PFIPC: Accounts opened for the controversial investment board never received funds

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has told the House of Representatives that two foreign currency accounts opened for the President’s Council of Economic Advisors/President’s Foreign Investment Promotion Council have remained inactive since its creation, and no deposits or withdrawals have been recorded.

The Director of Apex Bank, Hamisu Abdullahi, made this disclosure on Monday while appearing before the DPR Ad-Hoc Committee which is investigating the alleged formation of the President’s Foreign Investment Promotion Council without any valid legal basis.

Representing the CBN Governor, Abdullahi explained that the bank was acting strictly based on a directive from the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF), which stressed that the apex bank does not have the authority to independently open accounts for federal government agencies.

“As banker to the Federal Government, the Central Bank has the responsibility to open all accounts of Ministries, Departments and Institutions, except those excluded from the Treasury Single Account,” he said.

He further clarified the operational procedures of the bank, stating, “We have no direct relationship 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.”

According to Abdullahi, the CBN received an official mandate dated July 29, 2025, from the OAGF directing it to create two domicile accounts—one in United States dollars and another in Pound Sterling—for the council. The two accounts will then be opened on July 30, 2025.

Despite its creation, he told lawmakers the account remains unusable because the council never completed the documentation required to activate it.

“Both accounts are still inactive, have zero balance and have never been operated,” he said.

Abdullahi added that the account had not recorded any financial transactions since its inception.

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“There is no foreign exchange allocation, no remittances, no inflow and no outflow. These accounts have had zero balance from their inception until now,” he said.

He also informed the committee that the board never had any direct communication with the apex bank regarding the management or operation of the account.

“The board has no direct correspondence with the Central Bank of Nigeria regarding the operation of the account,” he added.

Also appearing before the committee, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Didi Esther Walson-Jack, distanced her office from the creation of the controversial council, saying that responsibility for creating a government agency does not lie with the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF).

“The approval and establishment of such institutions 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 institutions,” he said.

He revealed that although the board requested approval for its organizational structure by August 2025, the request was initially rejected as important documents were not provided.

But Walson-Jack explained that during the defense exercise of the 2025 employment budget, council officials then sought approval for the establishment structure and recruitment exceptions, notifying her office that 14 officials, including a Director General and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), were already working with the organization.

The application, he said, was processed simultaneously with applications from 87 other Ministries, Departments and Institutions and finally received approval in the fourth wave of employment approval, which covered 314 positions.

But he noted that the office later discovered irregularities in legal documents filed by the board.

“It is noted that the documents presented by the council as law or the legal instruments supporting it do not actually contain the required features,” he told lawmakers.

The Head of Service also denied reports that his party had placed civil servants on the council.

“We wish to state that there has been no deployment of staff by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation to the council,” he said.

He also rejected claims that OHCSF allocated office accommodation to the council in the Federal Secretariat Phase III.

Following the testimony, the Chair of the investigative committee, Hon. Abdulmalik Danga, directed the Central Bank to provide lawmakers with a complete history of accounts related to the President’s Foreign Investment Promotion Council and the President’s Economic Advisory Council.

“We want details of account activities related to the President’s Foreign Investment Promotion Council and the President’s Economic Advisory Council. Starting from account opening to its final status, this committee wants the records to be complete,” said Danga.

The committee also instructed the CBN to obtain and hand over records of relevant accounts maintained at commercial banks as they continue their investigation into the formation and activities of the board.