The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has told the House of Representatives that two foreign currency accounts opened for the Presidential Economic Advisory Council/Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council have remained inactive since their creation, with no deposits or withdrawals recorded.
The disclosure was made on Monday by a Director at the apex bank, Hamisu Abdullahi, while appearing before the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee probing the alleged establishment of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council without a valid legal framework.
Representing the CBN Governor, Abdullahi explained that the bank acted strictly on a directive from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF), stressing that the apex bank has no authority to independently open accounts for federal government agencies.
“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 further clarified the bank’s operational procedure, stating, “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.”
According to Abdullahi, the CBN received an official mandate dated July 29, 2025, from the OAGF directing it to create two domiciliary accounts—one in United States dollars and another in Pounds Sterling—for the council. Both accounts were subsequently opened on July 30, 2025.
Despite their creation, he told lawmakers that the accounts have remained unusable because the council never completed the documentation required to activate them.
“Those two accounts remain inactive with zero balance and have never been operated,” he stated.
Abdullahi added that the accounts have not recorded any form of financial transaction since inception.
“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.
He also informed the committee that the council never established direct communication with the apex bank regarding the management or operation of the accounts.
“The council had no direct correspondence with the Central Bank of Nigeria regarding the operation of the accounts,” 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 establishment of the controversial council, saying the responsibility for creating government agencies does not rest with the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF).
“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.
She disclosed that although the council sought approval for its organisational structure in August 2025, the request was initially rejected because essential documents were not provided.
Walson-Jack, however, explained that during the 2025 manpower budget defence exercise, officials of the council later sought approval for its establishment structure and recruitment waiver, informing her office that 14 officers, including a Director-General and Chief Executive Officer, were already working with the organisation.
The request, she said, was processed alongside submissions from 87 other Ministries, Departments and Agencies and eventually received approval under the fourth batch of manpower approvals, covering 314 positions.
She noted, however, that the office subsequently discovered irregularities in the legal documents 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 told the lawmakers.
The Head of Service also denied reports that her office posted civil servants 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,” she said.
She similarly dismissed claims that the OHCSF allocated office accommodation to the council at the Federal Secretariat Phase III.
Following the testimonies, Chairman of the investigative committee, Hon. Abdulmalik Danga, directed the Central Bank to furnish lawmakers with the complete history of the accounts associated with both 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 said.
The committee also instructed the CBN to obtain and submit records of any related accounts maintained in commercial banks as it continues its investigation into the establishment and activities of the council.
