Presidential Council Controversy: AGF contradicts presidency over CBN account claim

The Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation has contradicted the Presidency’s account of how the disputed Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council attempted to open a Central Bank of Nigeria account.

In a statement last week, Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga said Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, who parades himself as Director-General of PFIPC, used fake documents to “fraudulently” open a CBN account by misleading the OAGF. Onanuga added that according to police findings, no government money was transferred into the account, and used the explanation to clear the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, of any wrongdoing.

But the OAGF says that narrative is inaccurate.

Speaking for the office, Director of Public Relations Bawa Mokwa said the council never completed the requirements to operate a CBN account, which made it impossible for any allocation to be paid to it.

According to Mokwa, an application was initiated after Adeyemi presented “an appointment letter” linked to an existing government agency. However, the process stalled because the names of authorised signatories were never submitted. Without that, the account could not be activated.

“The account has not seen the light of day. It has not received one kobo because it was never fully activated,” Mokwa said. “The Accountant-General has not released any money because there is no operational account for such payment.”

He further explained that the existence of a budgetary provision does not mean funds are automatically released. While PFIPC has an allocation in the 2026 Appropriation Act, no payment can be made without an operational account.

The OAGF also dismissed claims that salaries had been paid to staff of the council. Mokwa said federal agencies cannot recruit or pay salaries without approvals from the Federal Character Commission, the Budget Office and the Federal Civil Service Commission, after which staff must be enrolled on the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System.

“If an agency is granted a waiver to recruit, it must still obtain approvals from the relevant agencies before presenting staff details to the Accountant-General. Without those approvals, not even one employee can be captured on the payroll,” he said. According to him, PFIPC has not met any of those conditions and therefore has neither an operational CBN account nor an approved payroll.

—How the controversy started—

The PFIPC issue first came to light after the Presidency disowned the body, saying no such agency exists under President Bola Tinubu’s administration and warning Nigerians against dealing with anyone claiming to represent it.

The Presidency said Adeyemi is standing trial on charges bordering on alleged forgery and impersonation. The matter was flagged in October 2025 after the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission raised concerns that the purported council was performing functions similar to those of the NIPC.

The Office of the Chief of Staff subsequently petitioned security agencies, alleging that appointment letters and other documents purportedly issued in the name of the Presidency were forged. Investigators said they recovered documents after Adeyemi’s arrest. The government has maintained that PFIPC was never legally created.

The issue resurfaced after the 2026 Appropriation Act listed the “Presidential Economic Advisory Council/Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council” under the Presidency with a budgetary allocation of about N1.3 billion for personnel, overhead and capital expenditure.

That inclusion has raised fresh questions from opposition figures, legal experts and civil society groups about how a body described by the Presidency as non-existent could be provided for in the federal budget.

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There are also questions about reports that the council operated from the Federal Secretariat and interacted with government institutions before it was disowned.

Calls for an independent probe into the circumstances surrounding the controversy have continued to mount.

[Rewritten story sourced from Daily Trust]