The Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation and the Central Bank of Nigeria have denied playing any role in establishing the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council and the Presidential Economic Advisory Council.
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Both institutions made the disclosures on Monday while appearing before the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee investigating how the disputed councils obtained official recognition and operated within the Federal Government despite questions surrounding their legal existence.
The Office of the Head of the Civil Service told the committee that it had no constitutional responsibility for creating ministries, departments or agencies, explaining that its involvement was limited to approving administrative and organisational structures after an agency had been lawfully established.
Representing the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Esther Walson-Jack, an official informed lawmakers that the council submitted a request for approval of its organisational structure on August 6, 2025.
The request was, however, rejected because the council failed to provide the documents required to establish its legal status and authority to operate.
“From our records, the council submitted a request to the OHCSF for approval of its organisational structure on the 6th of August, 2025, without providing the requisite documents. Consequently, the request was not granted,” the representative said.
The office nevertheless confirmed that officials of the disputed Presidential Economic Advisory Council and Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council appeared during the 2025 annual manpower budget defence and sought an establishment and recruitment waiver.
According to the OHCSF, the officials claimed that the council had been operating mainly with personnel deployed or seconded from other government institutions.
They subsequently requested approval for 314 positions, consisting of 14 persons they described as existing personnel and 300 proposed additional positions.
The Head of Service’s office said it later discovered irregularities in the document presented by the council as its enabling law or legal instrument.
“It was observed that the document presented by the council as its enabling law or legal instrument did not really carry the requisite features,” the representative told the committee.
The OHCSF also denied deploying civil servants to the council or allocating office accommodation to it.
“We wish to state that there was no deployment of staff by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation to the council,” Walson-Jack’s representative said.
The office maintained that matters relating to the establishment and supervision of federal agencies fell within the responsibilities of the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and other relevant government institutions.
The CBN, in its submission, confirmed that two foreign-currency accounts were opened in the names of the disputed councils following a formal request from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.
Representing CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso, Director Hamisu Abdullahi said the apex bank received a mandate dated July 29, 2025, from the Accountant-General’s office on July 30, 2025.
The mandate requested the opening of one United States dollar domiciliary account and one Pound Sterling domiciliary account.
Abdullahi, however, explained that the accounts were never activated or operated because the council failed to provide the names and documentation of authorised signatories.
“Those two accounts remain inactive with zero balance and have never been operated,” he said.
The CBN said no foreign-exchange allocation, remittance, deposit, withdrawal, inflow or outflow had been recorded on either account since they were opened.
The bank’s evidence clarifies an earlier statement by the Office of the Accountant-General that the purported council had no operational CBN account and received no public funds.
TheNigeriaLawyer had earlier reported that the OAGF said an account-opening process was initiated but could not be completed because the required authorised signatories and supporting documents were not supplied.
The OAGF also maintained that no public money or salaries had been released to the purported council, despite its reported inclusion in the 2026 Appropriation Act with an allocation of approximately ₦1.303 billion.
Following the CBN’s appearance, Chairman of the House Ad-hoc Committee, Abdulmalik Danga, directed the apex bank to submit the complete records relating to the accounts.
“We want details of account activities relating to the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council as well as the Presidential Economic Advisory Council. From the opening of the accounts to their last status, this committee wants the complete records,” Danga said.
The latest disclosures deepen questions over how the disputed organisation was able to approach government institutions, participate in a manpower budget defence, request hundreds of staff positions and obtain foreign-currency accounts despite allegedly lacking a valid enabling law, presidential instrument or executive approval.
TheNigeriaLawyer had earlier reported that the Presidency disowned the council and maintained that President Bola Tinubu neither established it nor appointed Adeniyi Adeyemi as its Director-General.
Tinubu subsequently directed the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission to investigate the organisation, the alleged use of forged appointment letters and official documents, the opening of bank accounts and the circumstances that enabled the body to acquire the appearance of a legitimate government agency.
The President ordered the ICPC to submit its findings within 30 days and directed ministries, departments and agencies to provide investigators with all relevant documents.
Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, also appeared before the ICPC on Monday, gave testimony and answered questions concerning the disputed agency before returning to his duty post.
Adeyemi had alleged that he paid ₦400 million through a person he believed was acting for Gbajabiamila to secure his purported appointment, an allegation the Chief of Staff has denied.
Gbajabiamila maintained that he reported Adeyemi’s activities to the police after discovering that his signature, State House letterhead and other official instruments were allegedly being used without authorisation.
The police have filed criminal charges against Adeyemi and others over allegations of forgery, impersonation and related offences. The allegations remain unproven, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless convicted by a competent court.
The House committee’s investigation is expected to establish which officials processed the disputed council’s requests, how it appeared in government records and the federal budget, and whether any public officer facilitated its activities despite the absence of a recognised legal framework.
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