The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) told the House of Representatives ad hoc committee investigating the legal status, operations and budget funding of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) that it received approval from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) to open two domiciliary accounts for the council.
The disclosure came as the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) questioned the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, over claims made by the council’s alleged Director-General, Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi.
Adeyemi claimed he paid N400 million to Gbajabiamila through the late Babatunde Dolapo Tanimola to secure the appointment. He also alleged that the Chief of Staff demanded 48 per cent of the council’s N27.3 billion take-off grant. Gbajabiamila denied the claims and filed a N15 billion defamation suit against him.
The PFIPC also received over N1.3 billion in the approved 2026 budget, raising questions about how the council made it into the budget. Findings showed Adeyemi also secured approval to recruit 300 workers, obtained office space at the Federal Secretariat in Abuja and opened CBN accounts.
However, the OAGF maintained the council had no account with the CBN, contradicting the Presidency’s claim that Adeyemi used fake documents to fraudulently open the accounts.
Appearing before the committee, CBN Director Hamisu Abdullahi said the bank received an official mandate from the OAGF on July 29, 2025, and opened one US dollar and one Pound Sterling domiciliary account on July 30, 2025.
“The process for opening the account requires a mandate from the office of the Account General of the Federation. So once we receive that mandate, we perform all the necessary verification to confirm that this mandate is actually coming from the Office of the Accountant General. So once we confirm that, we have some internal procedures too, which we follow to open those accounts.
“On the 30th of July 2025, we received a mandate dated 29 July 2025 from the office of the Accountant-General of the Federation to the Central Bank of Nigeria to open two domiciliary accounts for the Presidential Economic Advisory Council/ Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council.
“Based on that mandate, we did the normal verification to confirm the genuineness of the mandate and also process the account opening. And two accounts were actually opened: a domiciliary account, one dollar account and one pound sterling account for the Presidential Economic Advisory Council/ Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion. Those two accounts remain inactive with zero balance and have never been operated.”
He added that there had been no 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.”
Abdullahi said the CBN only handles account opening for Ministries, Departments and Agencies through the OAGF and had no direct contact with the council over the accounts.
Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs Didi Esther Walson-Jack, also told lawmakers that her office does not establish government agencies but only approves their administrative structures.
“The approval and establishment of agencies is not within the purview of the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF). However, the OHCSF is responsible for approving the administrative structure of federal government agencies.”
She said the council requested approval for its structure on August 6, 2025, but failed to provide the required documents. During the 2025 manpower budget exercise, it also sought approval for 314 positions, including 14 existing staff and 300 new workers. The request was approved, but the office later found problems with the legal document presented by the council.
“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 denied deploying civil servants or allocating office space to the council.
“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.”
The committee directed the CBN to submit full records of every financial transaction linked to the council.
At the inauguration of the panel, Speaker Abbas Tajudeen said the investigation was meant to establish facts, not fuel controversy. He said lawmakers would determine whether the council was legally created, how it entered the federal budget and whether due process was followed.
“Today (Monday), we convene to exercise our constitutional oversight by formally inaugurating the Ad Hoc Committee to probe the existence and operations of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council and its placement within the federal budget framework.”
“These questions deserve clear, factual and authoritative answers. The House of Representatives has therefore not constituted this committee to validate speculation or amplify controversy. Neither is this a political exercise. Our objective is simply to establish the facts.”
“This inquiry is not about personalities. It is about institutions and the integrity of public administration. Every public institution must derive its authority from law and exercise its responsibilities within the limits prescribed by law.”
“This House expects the truth, not rehearsed scripts or defensive posturing. Nigerians deserve candour. They deserve explanations that withstand scrutiny. They deserve to know, with absolute certainty, that their public institutions operate within the law.”
Committee Chairman Yusuf Gagdi assured Nigerians the investigation would be fair and impartial.
“Our mandate is to objectively examine the circumstances surrounding the alleged establishment and operations of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council, determine whether due constitutional and statutory processes were followed, engage all relevant stakeholders, carefully review the available evidence, and submit appropriate findings and recommendations to the House.”
The panel has invited top government officials and heads of key agencies, including ministers, the SGF, CBN Governor, EFCC, ICPC, DSS, IGP and others.
Separately, ICPC questioned Gbajabiamila after President Bola Tinubu directed the commission to investigate the matter within 30 days.
His lawyer, Jiti Ogunye, confirmed the appearance.
“In full cooperation with the ICPC acting as directed by the President of Nigeria, I hereby confirm that my client, Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff to the President of Nigeria, responded to the invitation of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission and appeared at about 15:00hrs on Monday, July 20, 2026, as part of the ongoing investigation into the activities of the ‘PFIPC’ fake agency, among others.”
“My client gave his testimony, responded to questions accordingly, and has returned to his duty post.”
