The Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation has said the controversial Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council did not maintain a functional account with the Central Bank of Nigeria, offering fresh details amid the controversy surrounding the agency.
The clarification followed an earlier statement by the Presidency alleging that Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, who claimed to be the council's Director-General, used forged documents to facilitate the opening of a CBN account, although it maintained that no public funds were lodged in it.
Explaining its position, the OAGF said the account opening process never progressed beyond the application stage. It noted that Adeyemi had submitted an appointment letter while seeking to open the account, but the process remained incomplete.
The agency's Director of Public Relations, Bawa Mokwa, explained that the mandatory details of authorised signatories were never provided, preventing the account from being activated.
He stressed that the account never became operational and, as a result, no allocation or other government funds were released to the council.
Mokwa further stated that the inclusion of an agency in the national budget does not automatically entitle it to receive government funds, as statutory procedures must first be satisfied before any disbursement can be made.
He also refuted claims that workers of the council had received salaries, explaining that federal agencies must obtain approvals from the relevant government bodies before employees can be enrolled on the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System for salary payments.
The PFIPC has remained at the centre of public scrutiny after the Presidency declared it a non-existent agency and accused Adeyemi of forgery and impersonation. The controversy, however, deepened after the council appeared in the 2026 Appropriation Act with a budgetary allocation of about ₦1.3bn, prompting growing calls for a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding its inclusion in the federal budget.
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