Budget Office: No Funds Released to Controversial PFIPC Despite ₦1.3bn Allocation

The Budget Office of the Federation has told the House of Representatives that none of the ₦1.3 billion appropriated for the controversial Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), also referred to as the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC), was released or spent despite its inclusion in the 2026 Appropriation Act.

Director-General of the Budget Office, Tanimu Yakubu, disclosed this on Friday while appearing before the House ad hoc committee investigating the establishment of the council and the budgetary allocation approved for it.

Yakubu told lawmakers that although the National Assembly approved allocations covering personnel, overhead and capital expenditure, the Budget Office withheld the financial clearance required to activate the funds because the statutory conditions for accessing public money were never fulfilled.

According to him, no recruitment was approved, no personnel were enrolled on the federal payroll and no procurement process was initiated.

“The conclusion is clear. Not one kobo of the personnel provision could lawfully have been drawn, and not one kobo was drawn,” Yakubu said.

“The overhead provision never matured into a lawful cash release, while the capital provision never progressed into procurement or expenditure because the conditions required by law were never satisfied.”

He further explained that the Budget Office directed both the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation not to process any payment linked to the council, effectively preventing the release of public funds.

The controversy surrounding the PFIPC escalated after Adeniyi Adeyemi publicly identified himself as the Director-General of the council, despite repeated denials by the Presidency that the body had ever been established.

Adeyemi was photographed attending official engagements with diplomats and senior government officials and reportedly operated from an office within the Federal Secretariat in Abuja.

Although the Presidency later disowned the council and initiated criminal proceedings against him, Adeyemi maintained that his appointment was legitimate.

He also denied allegations that he forged his appointment letter and accused President Bola Tinubu's Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, of receiving money through an intermediary in connection with the appointment.

Gbajabiamila rejected the allegation and has since instituted legal action, while Adeyemi was later arrested in Osun State.

As part of its ongoing investigation, the House committee has summoned officials of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation and relevant security agencies to clarify their roles in the matter.

Earlier this week, the CBN confirmed that it opened two accounts for the disputed council on the instruction of the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation but said neither account had been activated or funded.

CBN Director of Banking Services, Abdullahi Hamisu, informed lawmakers that no foreign exchange allocation, remittance or banking transaction took place because authorised signatories were never designated to operate the accounts.

Similarly, Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack, denied claims that her office posted civil servants to the council or allocated office accommodation to it within the Federal Secretariat.

She explained that while a request for staff deployment was received, it was never approved and no office space was assigned to the organisation.

Meanwhile, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has commenced an investigation into the controversy following President Tinubu's directive.

Several key officials, including Gbajabiamila, have reportedly been invited as part of the ongoing probe into the circumstances surrounding the council and its inclusion in the 2026 budget.