The Central Bank of Nigeria on Monday stated that it had opened 2 foreign-currency domiciliary accounts for the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council. This came as the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, appeared at the headquarters of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission to testify in the ongoing investigation into the activities of the fictitious agency. The admission of the apex bank occurred at the public hearing convened at the National Assembly Complex by the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee investigating the existence and operations of the council, chaired by Yusuf Gagdi and inaugurated by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas.
Monday's hearing revealed critical gaps in bureaucratic processes that allowed the fictitious agency to obtain functional perks accorded to real government agencies. Represented by the Director of its Banking Services Department, Hamisu Ibrahim, the apex bank said the accounts, one in United States dollars and the other in British pounds sterling, were opened following a mandate received from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.
Ibrahim told the committee, “On July 30, 2025, we received a mandate dated July 29, 2025 from the Office of the Accountant-General. We received the mandate to authorise two accounts, one a US dollar domiciliary account, the other a pound domiciliary account, for the Presidential Economic Advisory Council/Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council,”.
He explained the verification process of the bank, stating, “The process of opening an account requires a mandate from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.” He added, “Once we receive that mandate, we perform all the necessary verifications to confirm that this mandate is actually coming from that office.” Ibrahim further noted, “The department that handles the mandate is different from the department that actually does the account opening,”.
Nevertheless, he noted that no one came to activate the accounts after they were created. Ibrahim stated, “We did not receive any correspondence, mandate, signature or mandate cards. We were not introduced to the authorising or approving officers.” He continued, “Based on that, those accounts remain inactive, with zero balance. There have been no foreign exchange allocations.” He added, “The accounts have maintained zero balance from inception to date and have never recorded any inflow or outflow,” stating that a statement of account had been attached to the records of the committee.
However, the account of the Central Bank of Nigeria directly contradicted an earlier submission by Accountant-General Shamseldeen Ogunjimi, who had claimed that no accounts were opened in the name of the agency.
Also testifying before the committee, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack, said her office never allocated any space to the council. Records available to the Office of the Head of the Civil Service showed that the office space reportedly occupied by the council at the Federal Secretariat Phase III had been officially allocated to the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, not to the fictitious council.
Walson-Jack stated, “There is speculation that the council occupied office space in the Federal Secretariat Phase III. We can state categorically that the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation did not allocate any office space to the council.” She added, “The office space indicated as the council’s official address forms part of the office accommodation allocated to the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation for the use of the OSGF and presidential bodies,”.
Walson-Jack, however, told the committee that during the 2025 Annual Manpower Budget Defence Exercise, the council submitted additional documents through one Patricia Akhigbe, including the appointment letter of its Director-General and details of its mandate, after which its request was processed alongside those of 87 other ministries, departments and agencies. An authorised establishment for 314 positions was subsequently issued to the council, and a recruitment waiver followed days later. Walson-Jack said Akhigbe had since been invited for questioning by the police. She stressed that her office neither deployed staff to the council nor approved any recruitment, and urged the committee to direct further inquiries to the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
In his ruling after the day’s hearing, committee chairman Gagdi asked the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, and other top government functionaries to appear before the panel on Thursday. Gagdi stated, “In continuation of this assignment, the secretariat should invite the SGF to appear and brief this committee on the issues raised.” He added, “Also to appear on Thursday are the Inspector-General of Police, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Finance, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice as well as the Minister of Budget and National Planning.” He further said, “Also invited are the Accountant-General of the Federation, heads of the Budget Office of the Federation, Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission, the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission.”
Meanwhile, in fulfillment of the directive of President Bola Tinubu on July 7 ordering the ICPC to investigate the scandal within 30 days, Gbajabiamila appeared at the headquarters of the commission in Abuja, arriving at approximately 3:00 pm and departing at around 3:30 pm. His legal counsel, Jiti Ogunye of Jiti Ogunye Chambers, confirmed the appearance in a statement signed Monday evening titled, “Gbajabiamila Responds to ICPC invitation over Ongoing Investigation into ‘PFIPC’ Fake Agency”.
Ogunye wrote, “In full cooperation with the ICPC, acting as directed by the President of Nigeria, I hereby confirm that my client, Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff to the President of Nigeria, responded to the invitation of the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission and appeared at about 15:00 hours on Monday, July 20, 2026, as part of the ongoing investigation into the activities of the ‘PFIPC’ fake agency, among others. My client gave his testimony, responded to questions accordingly, and has returned to his duty post.”
Sources within the ICPC confirmed that Gbajabiamila arrived following a formal invitation from the commission and volunteered information relevant to the probe. A source stated, “The Chief of Staff was in our office earlier today (Monday). He came to volunteer information to help our investigation on the fake agency matter. He came personally and left after he said all he knew about the matter at hand,”.
The appearance of Gbajabiamila at the ICPC on Monday comes alongside the filing of a N15,000,000,000 defamation suit against Adeyemi before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory. The Chief of Staff is seeking N10,000,000,000 in general damages, N5,000,000,000 in aggravated damages, and N200,000,000 in costs through his legal team led by Kemi Pinheiro, SAN.
The suit stems from allegations Adeyemi made at a press conference in June that Gbajabiamila demanded a 48 per cent kickback from the purported N27,300,000,000 take-off grant of the agency, and that N400,000,000 had already been paid through a proxy while an additional N200,000,000 was required to secure presidential approvals. Gbajabiamila denied ever meeting or communicating with Adeyemi or authorising anyone to act on his behalf. The suit also sought a public retraction and apology published in 5 national newspapers and pinned on all social media platforms of Adeyemi for 30 days.
Ahead of his arrest last week in Osun State, Adeyemi had, in an interview with social media influencer Martins Vincent Otse, known as VeryDarkMan, claimed he personally lobbied Budget Office officials to secure the inclusion of the council in the 2026 Appropriation Act. He said he first approached the office in December 2024 for the 2025 budget but was told the process had closed. He stated, “I went to that Budget Office for the 2025 budget. I submitted the letter and everything that I wanted, but I was told it was already late,” adding that officials later assured him the proposal would be considered for 2026.
He denied paying any bribes, saying he merely promised employment opportunities. He also claimed he was surprised to discover that the agency appeared in the 2026 budget with a N1,300,000,000 allocation, saying he had already been arrested by the time the appropriation was passed.
Adeyemi also distanced Gbajabiamila from the budgetary allocation, saying he had never met the Chief of Staff in person. He stated, “I never met Gbajabiamila physically before and after he was appointed. Dolapo Tanimola handled everything for me,” referencing the same associate the police said died in a hotel fire in Abuja on October 22, 2025, 5 days before the initial arrest of Adeyemi. The allegations have not been independently verified, and the Budget Office has not publicly responded.
Meanwhile, the arrest of Adeyemi, executed by the Intelligence Response Team following a bench warrant issued by the Federal High Court after he failed to appear for his scheduled arraignment, has drawn reactions from opposition parties. The National Coordinator of the Obidient Movement Worldwide, Dr Yunusa Tanko, called for a public inquest, stating, “There ought to be a public inquest into the matter. We don’t want anything to be done in shrouded secrecy. This scandal is a national disgrace. There is no better way to describe it.”
The National Publicity Secretary of the Social Democratic Party, Rufus Aiyenigba, said the arrest was in order but added that Gbajabiamila should step aside. Aiyenigba stated, “It is only fair to also ask the Chief of Staff to equally step aside. This is not the first time allegations are being levelled against him. There is a growing pattern that has become a source of concern.”
The National Publicity Secretary of the National Democratic Congress, Osa Director, alleged that the arrest of Adeyemi was being used to shield others. Director stated, “The first condition the government has to fulfil is to ask Gbajabiamila to step aside. He cannot be a judge and accuser in his own case. Buhari did it by asking his SGF Babachir Lawal to step aside. What is the big deal about Gbajabiamila stepping aside?”
Adeyemi is due to reappear before the Federal High Court in Abuja on July 27, alongside 2 accomplices identified only as Femi and Anu who remain at large.
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