CBN Explains How Controversial PFIPC Secured Foreign Currency Accounts
Fresh details have emerged on how the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) was able to obtain official foreign currency bank accounts with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) despite questions surrounding its legal status.
The disclosure came during a public hearing of the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee investigating the establishment and operations of the agency, where the apex bank explained the process that led to the opening of the accounts.
Representing the CBN Governor, the Director of Banking Services, Hamisu Ibrahim, told lawmakers that the bank opened two domiciliary accounts for the council after receiving a formal directive from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF).
According to him, the directive, dated July 29, 2025, instructed the CBN to create two foreign currency accounts—one in United States dollars and the other in British pounds sterling—for the Presidential Economic Advisory Council/Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council. The accounts were subsequently opened on July 30, 2025.
The CBN official, however, informed the committee that despite the accounts being opened, they have remained completely inactive because the council never completed the documentation required for their operation.
He explained that the agency failed to submit the authorised signatories needed to activate the accounts, meaning no deposits, withdrawals or any financial transactions have taken place since they were created.
Ibrahim told lawmakers that both accounts currently maintain zero balances, adding that no foreign exchange allocations, government transfers or other financial activities have ever been processed through them.
The hearing also revealed that the CBN had no direct dealings with officials of the controversial agency, stressing that it acted solely on the official instruction received from the Accountant-General’s office, in line with procedures for opening government accounts.
Meanwhile, the committee heard that the existence of the agency has triggered multiple investigations following claims that it was not lawfully established despite receiving official recognition in some government records.
The controversy has also attracted the attention of anti-corruption agencies, with the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) continuing its probe into the circumstances surrounding the creation and operations of the council.
Lawmakers expressed concern over the apparent administrative lapses that enabled the agency to obtain government documentation and banking facilities, promising to identify everyone involved in the process.
The House committee has directed the CBN to submit additional records relating to the accounts while investigations continue into the activities of the PFIPC and the circumstances that led to its recognition within parts of the federal bureaucracy.