PFIPC: No Recruitment, Kobo Of ₦1.3 Billion Allocation Spent – Budget Office Tells Reps

The Budget Office of the Federation has told the House of Representatives ad hoc committee investigating the disputed Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC) and Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) that no kobo of the funds appropriated for the agency was spent.

The Budget Office maintained that although the National Assembly approved funds for the council, the statutory and administrative conditions required for the release and spending of the money were never fulfilled.

Naijaonpoint reports that the Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Tanimu Yakubu, made the clarification while appearing before the House committee investigating the establishment and budgetary provisions of the disputed council.

Yakubu said the office did not grant financial clearance for the release of the funds, adding that no recruitment or payroll was approved for the agency.

He also said the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation were directed to withhold all payment instruments relating to the council.

The Budget Office DG told the lawmakers that the money allocated for personnel, overhead and capital expenditure never reached the stage where it could be legally spent.

“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,” Yakubu said.

He added, “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.”

The Budget Office said it would continue to cooperate with the House committee by providing all relevant records and documents to support its position.

The agency’s testimony came amid controversy surrounding the disputed Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council and the ₦1.3bn allocated to it in the 2026 Appropriation Act.

PFIPC Controversy

Naijaonpoint reports that the controversy surrounding the council began after Adeniyi Adeyemi allegedly presented himself for months as its Director-General.

Adeyemi reportedly appeared at public events and shared photographs of himself with diplomats and other prominent Nigerians on social media.

He also reportedly operated from an office at the Federal Secretariat in Abuja.

However, the Presidency later issued a statement denying the existence of the agency and accused Adeyemi of forging his appointment letter.

The Federal Government subsequently filed charges against him.

Adeyemi, however, has maintained that his appointment was valid and legally binding.

He also rejected the Presidency’s allegation that he forged the appointment letter and accused the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, of collecting money from him through an intermediary in connection with his appointment.

Gbajabiamila denied the allegation and subsequently instituted a court action over the claim.

Adeyemi was later arrested in Osun State.

CBN Confirms Two Accounts Were Opened

As part of its investigation, the House committee invited officials of the Central Bank of Nigeria, security agencies, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation and other government officials to explain what they knew about the disputed council.

During Monday’s proceedings, the CBN confirmed that two accounts had been opened for the agency.

However, the apex bank said the accounts were never operated and no money was paid into them.

The CBN Director of Banking Services, Abdullahi Hamisu, said the bank opened the accounts based on instructions received from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.

“Like I said, the accounts have never been operated. As a result, there have not been any foreign exchange allocations to the council from CBN. There have not been any remittances into those two accounts. There have not been approvals because the authority has not been established for those who will operate the account,” Hamisu told the lawmakers.

His testimony further indicated that no foreign exchange allocation or remittance was made to the disputed council.

The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack, also told the committee that her office neither allocated office space nor deployed civil servants to the disputed agency.

Walson-Jack said her office received a request for the deployment of government officials to the council but did not approve any such deployment.

“The request for deployment of officers was received and noted for consideration. However, there was no deployment of officers by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation to the council,” she told the lawmakers.

The Head of Service also denied claims that the council was officially allocated an office at the Federal Secretariat Phase Three in Abuja.

She said, “While there is speculation that the council occupied office space in the Federal Secretariat Phase Three, we can state categorically that the office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation did not allocate any office space to the PFIPC.”

ICPC Quizzes Gbajabiamila

Meanwhile, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has invited Gbajabiamila for questioning over the controversy surrounding the disputed agency.

The development followed President Bola Tinubu’s directive for a full investigation into the matter.

The ICPC invitation is coming as the House of Representatives continues its investigation into the establishment of the council, the ₦1.3 billion allocation contained in the 2026 Appropriation Act and the circumstances surrounding Adeyemi’s claim to be the agency’s Director-General.