CBN: Two PFIPC Accounts Opened but Recorded Zero Inflows, Outflows

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has told the House of Representatives that two domiciliary accounts opened for the disputed Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) have remained inactive since their creation, recording no inflows, outflows, foreign exchange allocations or remittances.

The Director of Banking Services at the apex bank, Abdullahi Hamisu, disclosed this on Monday while appearing before the House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee investigating the controversy surrounding the purported council.

Hamisu said the two accounts, one denominated in US dollars and the other in pounds sterling were opened following a mandate received from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF).

He, however, said the accounts were never activated because the CBN was not provided with the necessary details of authorised and approving officers who were to operate them.

“Like I said, the accounts have never been operated. As a result, there have not been any foreign exchange allocations to the council from CBN. There have not been any remittances into those two accounts,” Hamisu told the lawmakers.

He added that there were no approvals or transactions involving the accounts because the required authority to operate them had not been established.

“So, there was no transaction made to or by the council throughout the period: from August when it was opened till today when we generated the statement,” he said.

According to the CBN director, both accounts had maintained a zero balance from the date they were opened and had never recorded any inflow or outflow.

Hamisu explained that the CBN received a mandate dated July 29, 2025, from the OAGF on July 30, 2025, authorising the opening of the two domiciliary accounts.

He said the mandate instructed the apex bank to open accounts in the names of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council/Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council.

“Based on that mandate, we did the normal verification to confirm the genuineness of the mandate and also processed the account opening, and two accounts were actually opened: a dollar account and a pound sterling account,” he said.

Hamisu said the CBN subsequently notified the OAGF that the accounts had been opened, as part of the bank's standard procedure, so that the Accountant-General's office could inform the relevant agency.

However, he said the CBN received no further correspondence providing signature mandate cards or identifying the authorised officers responsible for approving and operating transactions on the accounts.

“We were not introduced to who the authorising officers or the approving officers were. We were not introduced to that. Based on that, those accounts remain inactive with zero balance and have never been operated,” he said.

The disclosure comes amid an ongoing controversy over the existence and activities of the purported PFIPC.

The controversy began after Adeniyi Adeyemi allegedly presented himself as the director-general of the agency and claimed that he had been appointed through a letter purportedly issued by the Chief of Staff to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila.

Adeyemi also allegedly claimed to have paid money to Gbajabiamila in connection with the appointment.

Gbajabiamila has denied the allegations and instituted legal proceedings against Adeyemi, who was arrested in Osun State on July 14.

The Presidency has also denied the existence of the purported council and accused Adeyemi of forging the appointment letter.

The Presidency previously said police investigations indicated that Adeyemi allegedly used forged documents to mislead the OAGF in an attempt to open an account with the CBN.

It further alleged that investigators discovered 34 bank accounts operated by Adeyemi, including nine accounts purportedly linked to entities identified as the FCT Investment Promotion Agency and the Public Private Partnership (FIPA-APP), among others.

However, the Director of Public Relations at the OAGF, Bawa Mokwa, had earlier told the committee that the purported PFIPC did not have an account with the CBN.

Mokwa reportedly said that although an application had been made to open an account, the process was not completed because the required documentation was not provided.

The conflicting accounts surrounding the opening and status of the PFIPC accounts have now become a key issue in the House committee's investigation.

The CBN's testimony suggests that while two accounts were formally opened following a mandate attributed to the OAGF, they remained dormant and financially inactive because no authorised signatories were submitted to the apex bank.

The committee is expected to examine the documents and testimonies from the CBN, OAGF and other relevant agencies as it seeks to establish how the disputed council came into existence, who authorised its operations and whether public institutions or individuals were improperly represented in the process.