Controversial Presidential Economic Advisory Council/Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PEAC/PFIPC) has no operational account with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) said.
Reacting to claims made by Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, the self-styled Director-General of the PFIPC, the Presidency had said OAGF was misled and opened a CBN account.
“The Police found that Adeyemi, using the fake documents he created, fraudulently opened a CBN account by misleading the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation. According to the police, no government money has been transferred into the account,” Bayo Onanuga, Presidential spokesman, had said in a statement, which exonerated Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff to the President, of any wrongdoing in the saga.
The Director of Press/Public Relations in the OAGF, Mr Bawa Mokwa, on Sunday insisted that no public funds or salaries have been paid to the organisation.
The OAGF clarification came on the heels of an explanation from the Presidency that a Police Report had earlier confirmed that the signature of the Chief of Staff (CoS) and the State House letterhead were forged.
Mokwa said that although an application was made to open a CBN account, the process was never completed because the required documentation to activate the account was not submitted.
He said: “You cannot open an account at the CBN without authorization from the Accountant General. The Accountant General will authorize them to open an account at the CBN.”
He explained that the individual who approached the OAGF presented an appointment letter, but alleged that the document related to an already existing agency rather than the PEAC/PFIPC.
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According to him, the account-opening process began based on the document that was presented, but the account could not become operational because the names of the officials expected to serve as account signatories were never provided.
“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.
Mokwa said the absence of an operational account meant there was no channel through which the Office of the Accountant General could release government funds to the agency.
“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,” he said.
He dismissed claims that the agency had received any budgetary allocation from the Federal Government, explaining that it is expected to operate under the 2026 budget and has not yet reached the stage where it can receive government funding.
The OAGF spokesman also denied reports that salaries had been paid to workers of the agency, saying it had not recruited any staff through the procedures required for federal establishments.
“Based on our knowledge, he has not employed anybody,” he said.
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Mokwa explained that before any federal agency can recruit workers and place them on the government payroll, it must first obtain the necessary approvals from the Federal Character Commission (FCC), the Budget Office and the Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC).
He said only after those approvals are granted can the names of employees 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.
“He cannot capture even one name without those approvals because once they are captured, payment will come from the budget,” he said.
Mokwa maintained that none of those requirements had been completed, insisting there was no basis for claims that workers of the PEAC/PRIPC had received salaries or that the agency had been funded by the Office of the Accountant General.
Police report
There were fresh details on Sunday in the alleged PEAC/PFIPC fraud case, with the Presidency stating that a police probe had established that both the signature of the CoS and the State House letterhead used on the purported appointment letter were forged.
An official memorandum from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF) showed that the Federal Government had, months earlier, declared the purported council an illegal and fraudulent organisation with no legal or administrative backing.
