The Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) has dismissed claims that public funds or salaries have been paid to the Peace and Poverty Intervention Foundation Council (PFIPC), insisting that the agency has not received a single kobo from the federal government.
Speaking over the weekend, the OAGF’s Director of Public Relations, Bawa Mokwa, said the council does not have an operational account with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), making it impossible for government funds to be released.
“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.
According to him, although the process of opening a CBN account began after the agency’s convener, Adeniyi Adeyemi, presented an appointment letter to the OAGF, the account was never activated because the required documentation, including the names of authorised signatories, was not submitted.
“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,” he said.
Mokwa also alleged that the appointment letter presented by Adeyemi related to an already existing agency rather than the PFIPC. He explained that while the account-opening process was initiated based on the document presented, it could not be completed because the necessary requirements were not met.
He stressed that without an operational account, there was no channel through which the Office of the Accountant-General could release public 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,” Mokwa said.
