The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has confirmed that it opened two foreign currency accounts for the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC).

It, however, said the accounts have remained dormant since their creation in 2025, with no deposits, withdrawals, or any form of financial transactions or activities on them.

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 allegations that the PFIPC was a fake agency, established and operated without a valid legal framework.

Representing CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso, Abdullahi told the House Committee that the apex bank opened the accounts only after receiving a formal directive from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF).

Abdullahi stressed that CBN does not independently create accounts for ministries, departments or agencies (MDAs) without express approval from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.

“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,” Abdullahi told the lawmakers.

“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 OAGF issued a mandate dated July 29, 2025, instructing the CBN to open two domiciliary accounts, one denominated in United States dollars and the other in Pound Sterling, for the Presidential Economic Advisory Council/Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council.

He said the accounts were subsequently opened on July 30, 2025.

However, he said they never became operational because the council failed to submit the authorised signatories required to activate them.

“Those two accounts remain inactive with zero balance and have never been operated,” Abdullahi said.

He further informed the committee that no foreign exchange allocations, remittances or other financial activities had ever passed through the accounts.

“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 stated.

The CBN official also maintained that the bank never received any direct communication from the council concerning 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.

Following the submissions, Chairman of the Ad-hoc Committee, Hon. Abdulmalik Danga, directed the CBN to provide detailed records of all transactions 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 directed the apex bank to obtain information on any related accounts operated through commercial banks as part of efforts to conclude its investigation into the establishment and activities of the council.