A senior official of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has told the House of Representatives that the apex bank only opens accounts for government agencies after receiving formal approval from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF).
The clarification was made on Monday by Hamisu Abdullahi, a director at the CBN, while appearing before the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee investigating the alleged establishment of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) without a valid legal framework.
Abdullahi told lawmakers that the CBN strictly adheres to established procedures in opening government accounts and does not act independently in such matters.
According to him, the bank requires official authorisation from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation before any account can be created for a government agency or institution.
His testimony came as the committee intensified its probe into allegations surrounding the creation and operations of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council, with lawmakers seeking to determine whether due legal and administrative processes were followed.
The investigation is expected to establish whether the council was lawfully constituted and whether any public funds or official banking arrangements were made outside the provisions of existing laws.
The committee is expected to continue its hearings as it gathers evidence from key government institutions and officials involved in the matter.
