A Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) director, Hamisu Abdullahi, has told the House of Representatives committee investigating the alleged establishment of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council without a valid legal framework that accounts opened for the council have remained inactive with zero balance.
Abdullahi, who represented the CBN Governor before the ad-hoc committee on Monday, explained that the apex bank only opens accounts for federal government agencies after receiving approval from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF).
He said the CBN does not directly deal with Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) regarding account creation, closure or changes to account details except through the OAGF.
“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 added, “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 a directive from the OAGF dated July 29, 2025, to open two domiciliary accounts for the Presidential Economic Advisory Council/Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council.
He said the accounts, one in US dollars and another in Pounds Sterling, were opened on July 30, 2025, but have never been activated because the council failed to provide authorised signatories.
“Those two accounts remain inactive with zero balance and have never been operated,” he stated.
The CBN director said there had been no financial transactions involving the accounts since their creation.
“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 further disclosed that the council had no direct communication with the CBN regarding the operation of the accounts.
“The council had no direct correspondence with the Central Bank of Nigeria regarding the operation of the accounts,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Esther Walson-Jack, told lawmakers that her office had no constitutional mandate to establish government agencies.
She explained that while the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation approves administrative structures for federal agencies, the creation of such bodies is outside its responsibility.
“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.
Walson-Jack disclosed that the council applied for approval of its organisational structure on August 6, 2025, but the request was rejected because required documents were not provided.
She said officials of the council later sought approval for recruitment and establishment during the 2025 annual manpower budget defence exercise, stating that 14 officers, including the Director-General/Chief Executive Officer, were already working with the council.
According to her, the request was processed alongside applications from 87 other MDAs and was eventually approved as part of the fourth batch of manpower approvals, covering 314 positions, including the existing 14 workers and 300 additional positions.
However, she said the office later discovered irregularities in the documents presented as the council’s legal foundation.
“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 lawmakers.
She also denied claims that civil servants were deployed to the council or that her office allocated accommodation to it.
“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.
The committee chairman, Abdulmalik Danga, directed the CBN to submit complete records of all financial activities linked to 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 asked the CBN to obtain details of any related accounts operated through commercial banks as part of its investigation into the council’s establishment and operations without an approved legal framework.
