CBN Opens Domiciliary Accounts for Phantom PFIPC as Gbajabiamila Testifies Before ICPC

BY FRONTLINE REPORTERS

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has admitted opening two foreign-currency domiciliary accounts for the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), further deepening the scandal surrounding the fictitious government agency.

The revelation came on Monday during a public hearing convened by the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee investigating the existence and operations of the PFIPC at the National Assembly Complex.

The development coincided with the appearance of the Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila, at the headquarters of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) in Abuja, where he testified as part of the ongoing investigation into the fake agency.

Findings by Frontline Reporters indicate that the hearing exposed significant bureaucratic loopholes that enabled the phantom agency to enjoy privileges ordinarily reserved for duly established government institutions.

Represented by the Director of Banking Services, Hamisu Ibrahim, the CBN disclosed that the accounts—one denominated in United States dollars and the other in British pounds sterling—were opened following a formal mandate from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.

According to Ibrahim, the apex bank received the mandate on July 30, 2025, authorising the opening of the foreign currency accounts for the Presidential Economic Advisory Council/Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council.

He explained that account-opening procedures at the CBN are initiated only upon receiving official mandates from the Accountant-General’s Office, which are subsequently subjected to internal verification processes before approval.

Despite the approval, Ibrahim disclosed that no authorised officials ever came forward to activate the accounts.

“We did not receive any correspondence, mandate signatures or mandate cards. We were not introduced to the authorising or approving officers. Consequently, the accounts remain inactive and have maintained zero balance from inception,” he said.

He further stated that the accounts have neither received any foreign exchange allocations nor recorded any financial transactions since they were opened, adding that statements of account have been submitted to the investigative committee.

The CBN’s disclosure sharply contradicts an earlier submission by the Accountant-General of the Federation, Shamseldeen Ogunjimi, who had informed the committee that no accounts were ever opened in the name of the PFIPC.

Head of Civil Service Denies Allocating Office Space

Also appearing before the committee, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Didi Walson-Jack, denied allegations that her office allocated accommodation to the PFIPC.

She explained that records in her office showed that the Federal Secretariat Phase III office space reportedly occupied by the council had actually been allocated to the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF) and presidential bodies operating under it.

“There is speculation that the council occupied office space in the Federal Secretariat Phase III. We can categorically state that the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation did not allocate any office space to the council,” she said.

Walson-Jack, however, disclosed that during the 2025 Annual Manpower Budget Defence Exercise, the PFIPC submitted documents through one Patricia Akhigbe, including the appointment letter of its Director-General and details of its mandate.

The council’s request, she explained, was processed alongside those of 87 Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), leading to the issuance of an authorised establishment for 314 positions and a subsequent recruitment waiver.

She revealed that Patricia Akhigbe has since been invited for police questioning.

The Head of Service maintained that her office neither approved recruitment into the council nor deployed personnel to it and urged the committee to seek further clarification from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.

House Committee Summons Top Government Officials

Following Monday’s proceedings, Chairman of the Ad-hoc Committee, Hon. Yusuf Gagdi, directed the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, and several key government officials to appear before the panel on Thursday.

Those invited include the Inspector-General of Police, Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Finance, Budget and National Planning, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, the Accountant-General of the Federation, as well as heads of the Budget Office, Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission, and the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission.

ICPC Questions Gbajabiamila

In compliance with President Bola Tinubu’s directive ordering the ICPC to investigate the PFIPC scandal within 30 days, Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila honoured the commission’s invitation on Monday.

He reportedly arrived at the commission’s headquarters at about 3:00 pm and departed approximately 30 minutes later after providing testimony to investigators.

His lawyer, Jiti Ogunye, confirmed the development in a statement, saying Gbajabiamila fully cooperated with the anti-corruption agency and answered all questions relating to the ongoing investigation.

Sources within the ICPC also confirmed that the Chief of Staff voluntarily provided information relevant to the probe and subsequently returned to his official duties.

N15bn Defamation Suit

Gbajabiamila’s appearance before the ICPC came amid a N15 billion defamation suit he filed against Adeyemi at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory.

Through his legal team led by Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Kemi Pinheiro, the Chief of Staff is seeking N10 billion in general damages, N5 billion in aggravated damages, and N200 million as litigation costs.

The suit arose from allegations made by Adeyemi during a press conference in June, where he claimed that Gbajabiamila demanded a 48 per cent kickback from the agency’s purported N27.3 billion take-off grant and had already received N400 million through a proxy.

Gbajabiamila has categorically denied the allegations, insisting that he never met or communicated with Adeyemi or authorised anyone to act on his behalf.

The suit also seeks a public retraction and apology to be published in five national newspapers and pinned on all of Adeyemi’s social media platforms for 30 days.

Adeyemi Denies Bribery Allegations

Before his arrest in Osun State last week, Adeyemi, in an interview with social media personality Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, claimed that he personally lobbied officials of the Budget Office for the inclusion of the PFIPC in the 2026 Appropriation Act.

He said he initially approached the office in December 2024 for the 2025 budget cycle but was informed that submissions had closed. According to him, officials later assured him that the proposal would be considered in the 2026 budget.

Adeyemi denied paying bribes, insisting that he merely promised prospective employment opportunities.

He further claimed that he was surprised to learn that the council had eventually received a N1.3 billion allocation in the 2026 Appropriation Act, noting that he had already been arrested before the budget was passed.

He also distanced Gbajabiamila from the budgetary allocation process, stating that he had never met the Chief of Staff personally and that all his dealings were handled by an associate, Dolapo Tanimola, who reportedly died in a hotel fire in Abuja in October 2025.

The allegations have yet to be independently verified, while the Budget Office has not issued any official response.

Opposition Calls for Transparency

The arrest of Adeyemi by operatives of the Intelligence Response Team, acting on a bench warrant issued by the Federal High Court after he failed to appear for arraignment, has generated mixed reactions from opposition parties.

National Coordinator of the Obidient Movement Worldwide, Dr. Yunusa Tanko, called for an open and transparent public inquiry into the scandal.

Similarly, National Publicity Secretary of the Social Democratic Party, Rufus Aiyenigba, supported Adeyemi’s arrest but urged Gbajabiamila to step aside pending the conclusion of investigations.

The National Publicity Secretary of the National Democratic Congress, Osa Director, also argued that the Chief of Staff should temporarily relinquish his office to ensure an impartial investigation.

Adeyemi is expected to reappear before the Federal High Court in Abuja on July 27 alongside two other suspects identified simply as Femi and Anu, who are currently at large.

The unfolding PFIPC scandal continues to expose glaring institutional weaknesses within the nation’s public administration framework, raising fresh questions over how a fictitious agency successfully penetrated critical government systems and secured official recognition and budgetary allocations before its activities were uncovered.