Nigeria’s central bank opened dollar and pound accounts for a fictitious presidential council that operated inside the government for months, a parliamentary inquiry has heard.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) revealed at a House of Representatives hearing that it activated two domiciliary accounts for the non-existent Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) following an official request from the Accountant-General’s office.
CBN official Hamisu Ibrahim told lawmakers that while the accounts were created, they remained inactive with a zero balance and recorded no transactions.
The revelation directly contradicts previous statements from the Accountant-General, who insisted no accounts had ever been opened in the fake council’s name.
Presidential Chief of Staff questioned
The parliamentary hearing coincided with high-level developments in the parallel criminal investigation into how the ghost agency secured government perks, recruitment waivers, and budget line items.
Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, voluntarily appeared at the headquarters of the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) on Monday to give evidence.
Mr Gbajabiamila spent 30 minutes with investigators following a presidential directive ordering a thorough probe into the scandal.
The Chief of Staff has filed a ₦15bn (£7.5m) defamation lawsuit against the alleged mastermind behind the fake council, who previously accused him of demanding kickbacks—a claim the accused man later publicly recanted.
Government bureaucracy duped
The inquiry highlighted severe lapses across multiple government ministries that allowed the fraudulent body to operate:
- Civil Service Approval: Civil service heads confirmed the council managed to obtain official clearance for 314 staff positions and a recruitment waiver after submitting forged appointment letters.
- Secretariat Space: While the council claimed an address at the Federal Secretariat in Abuja, officials clarified the space actually belonged to the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
- Budget Line Items: The suspect behind the scheme admitted to lobbying officials to insert a ₦1.3bn allocation for the non-existent agency into the national budget.
Top cabinet ministers, including the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Finance Minister, and the Inspector-General of Police, have been summoned to appear before the parliamentary panel on Thursday.
Opposition parties have called for a full public inquest into the affair, describing the systemic administrative breach as a national embarrassment.
Add Comment