The Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) has dismissed claims that the controversial Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) has received government funds, insisting that the body does not have an operational account with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The clarification comes amid growing scrutiny over the status and activities of the council, following reports that the federal government approved a waiver in August 2025 allowing the PFIPC to recruit 300 personnel.
Although the 2026 Appropriation Act lists the Presidential Economic Advisory Council/Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council under the Presidency with a total allocation of N1.3 billion, the OAGF maintains that no public funds have been released to the organisation.
The budget provides N802.98 million for personnel costs, N200 million for overhead expenses and N300 million for capital projects.
Speaking during the weekend, the Director of Public Relations at the OAGF, Bawa Mokwa, explained that the council’s inability to complete the process of opening a CBN account has prevented it from receiving any government allocation.
According to him, while the PFIPC initiated the account-opening process, it failed to provide the necessary documentation required to activate the account.
“You cannot open an account at the CBN without authorisation from the Accountant-General. The Accountant-General will authorise them to open an account at the CBN,” Mokwa said.
He disclosed that the council’s convener, Adeniyi Adeyemi, approached the OAGF with an appointment letter, but alleged that the document presented was linked to an existing government agency rather than the PFIPC.
Mokwa said the application was processed based on the documents submitted, but the account never became operational because the names of officials designated as account signatories were not provided.
As a result, he said, there has been no platform through which government funds could be disbursed to the council.
“The account, till today, has not seen the light of day. It has not seen one kobo because the account is not completely operational,” he said.
“That portrays that he has not collected a dime. The Accountant-General has not released a dime to him because they don’t even have a place where the money can be paid.”
The OAGF also rejected reports suggesting that salaries had been paid to employees of the council, maintaining that no recruitment had been carried out in line with established federal procedures.
“Based on our knowledge, he has not employed anybody,” Mokwa stated.
He explained that before any federal agency can recruit staff and place them on the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS), it must first secure approvals from the Federal Character Commission (FCC), the Budget Office of the Federation and the Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC).
Only after obtaining those approvals, he said, can the names of successful recruits be submitted to the Office of the Accountant-General for enrolment on the federal payroll and payment of salaries.
“If they give you a waiver for 200 people, you take the waiver to these agencies and then present the papers to the Accountant-General,” Mokwa explained.
“He cannot capture even one name without those approvals because once they are captured, payment will come from the budget.”
According to the OAGF spokesperson, none of these statutory requirements has been fulfilled by the PFIPC.
He further clarified that while the council is included in the 2026 budget, it is yet to reach the stage where it can access public funds.
The OAGF’s position comes as questions continue to surround the legal status, funding and operations of the PFIPC, following recent controversies over its establishment and activities.
