The Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) has denied claims that the disputed Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) opened an operational account with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), contradicting an earlier Presidency statement.
Recall that Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga had said Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, who allegedly posed as PFIPC Director-General, used forged documents to mislead the OAGF into opening a CBN account, though no public funds were paid into it.
“The Police found that Adeyemi, using the fake documents he created, fraudulently opened a CBN account by misleading the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation. According to the police, no government money has been transferred into the account”, he had said in an issued statement, which exonerated the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, of any wrongdoing in the saga.
However, giving its own side of the issue, the OAGF spokesman Bawa Mokwa said the account-opening process was never completed because authorised signatories were not submitted, making it impossible for the account to become operational or receive government funds.
Mokwa also dismissed reports that PFIPC staff received salaries, stressing that the council had neither an approved payroll nor the statutory approvals required for recruitment and payment of personnel. While confirming that PFIPC appeared in the 2026 Appropriation Act with a ₦1.3 billion allocation, the OAGF said a budgetary provision does not automatically mean funds have been released.
The OAGF also dismissed claims that salaries had been paid to staff of the council. Mokwa explained that federal agencies cannot recruit personnel or process salary payments without obtaining approvals from the Federal Character Commission, the Budget Office and the Federal Civil Service Commission before workers are enrolled on the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System.
The controversy continues to deepen after the Presidency disowned the Council, and charged Adeyemi with forgery and impersonation, while critics question how an agency described as non-existent was included in the federal budget, prompting fresh calls for an independent investigation.
