The Budget Office of the Federation has insisted that no public funds were released or spent on the controversial Presidential Economic Advisory Council/Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PEAC/PFIPC), despite budgetary provisions approved for the body.
Director-General of the Budget Office, Tanimu Yakubu, made the clarification on Friday while appearing before the House of Representatives ad hoc committee investigating the establishment and budgetary allocations of the PEAC/PFIPC.
Yakubu told lawmakers that although the National Assembly approved funds for the council, none of the statutory requirements needed for the release and utilisation of the money were fulfilled.
According to him, the Budget Office ensured that the necessary financial controls remained in place, preventing any disbursement.
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“The conclusion is firm. Not one kobo of the personnel provision could lawfully have been drawn, and not one kobo was drawn. The overhead provision never matured into a lawful cash release.
“The capital provision never matured into procurement or expenditure. The conditions required for spending were not met and were not close to being met. There is therefore no personnel expenditure to recover. The money never moved because the controls held,” Yakubu said.
He explained that the Budget Office withheld the required financial clearance, while no recruitment or payroll approvals were granted for the council.
Yakubu added that the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation were also instructed not to process any payment related to the agency.
According to him, the personnel, overhead and capital allocations remained untouched because the legal and administrative conditions required to access the funds were never satisfied.
He assured the House committee of the Budget Office’s continued cooperation with the ongoing investigation, pledging to provide all relevant records and documents required to establish the facts surrounding the matter.
The controversy surrounding the PFIPC has dominated public discourse in recent weeks following allegations that Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi falsely presented himself as the Director-General of the agency.
Adeyemi reportedly operated from an office within the Federal Secretariat in Abuja and was photographed alongside diplomats and other prominent Nigerians while claiming to head the council.
The Presidency has since disowned the agency, insisting that it does not exist, and initiated legal action against Adeyemi over the alleged forgery of appointment documents.
Adeyemi, however, has maintained that his appointment was legitimate. He also accused the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, of receiving money through an intermediary to facilitate his appointment.
Gbajabiamila has denied the allegations and has filed a defamation suit against Adeyemi, while the suspect was subsequently arrested in Osun State as investigations into the matter continue.
