The Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation has stated that the controversial Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council did not operate an account with the Central Bank of Nigeria, contradicting an earlier claim by the Presidency that the alleged fake agency succeeded in opening one.
The clarification comes days after the Presidency, in a statement signed by Bayo Onanuga, the special adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, said investigations showed that the council’s self-styled director-general, Adeniyi Adeyemi, fraudulently opened a CBN account after allegedly misleading the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.
According to the Presidency, police investigations found that Adeyemi used forged documents to open the account, although no government funds were transferred into it.
However, speaking over the weekend, Bawa Mokwa, the director of Press and Public Relations in the OAGF, said the account-opening process was never completed and that the council has no operational account with the apex bank.
“The account, till today, has not seen the light of day. It has not seen one kobo because the account is not completely operational,” Mokwa said.
“That portrays that he has not collected a dime. The AGF has not released a dime to him because they don’t even have a place where the money can be paid.”
Mokwa explained that opening a government account with the CBN requires authorisation from the Accountant-General.
“You cannot open an account at the CBN without authorization from the Accountant General. The accountant general will authorise them to open an account at the CBN,” he said.
According to him, Adeyemi approached the OAGF with what appeared to be an appointment letter relating to an existing government agency rather than the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council.
He said the account-opening process commenced based on the document presented, but it could not be completed because the names of the officials who would serve as account signatories were never submitted.
As a result, he said, the account was never activated and could not receive any public funds.
Mokwa also rejected claims that the agency had received government funding or budgetary releases.
He maintained that the council had not received any allocation from the Federal Government and explained that funding tied to the 2026 budget had not reached the implementation stage.
“He has not collected a dime,” he said, adding that there was no operational account through which any government funds could have been paid.
The OAGF spokesman also dismissed reports that the organisation employed workers or paid salaries.
“Based on our knowledge, he has not employed anybody,” Mokwa said.
He explained that federal agencies cannot recruit staff or place employees on the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System without first obtaining approvals from the Federal Character Commission, the Budget Office and the Federal Civil Service Commission.
“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,” he said.
“He cannot capture even one name without those approvals because once they are captured, payment will come from the budget.”
Mokwa said none of those requirements had been fulfilled by the council.
The controversy follows the Presidency’s July 1 statement detailing allegations against Adeyemi, who is facing prosecution over claims that he forged a presidential appointment letter, falsely presented himself as Director-General of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council and operated a fictitious government agency.
While the Presidency maintained that Adeyemi fraudulently opened a CBN account using forged documents, the Accountant-General’s office insists that although an application was initiated, the process was never completed, leaving the council without an operational account capable of receiving public funds.
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