By Nchetachi Chukwuajah
The Budget Office of the Federation has said none of the funds appropriated for the controversial Presidential Economic Advisory Council/Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PEAC/PFIPC) in the 2026 budget was released or spent.
The Director General of the Budget Office, Tanimu Yakubu, disclosed this on Friday, July 24, while appearing before the House or Representatives ad hoc committee investigating the establishment of the council and the N1.3 billion allocated to it in the 2026 Appropriation Act.
Yakubu explained that although the National Assembly approved funding for the council, the legal and administrative requirements needed before any money could be accessed were never fulfilled.
“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,” he said.
Yakubu said the Budget Office withheld financial clearance, adding that no recruitment or payroll approval was granted.
He added that the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation were also directed not to process any payment linked to the council.
According to Yakubu, allocations for personnel, overhead, and capital projects never progressed to the implementation stage because all statutory conditions for spending public funds were unmet.
He assured the lawmakers that the Budget Office would continue to cooperate with the investigation by providing all relevant records and documentation.
The purported PFIPC sparked nationwide controversy after it was discovered that the sum of N1.3 billion was allocated to the council in the 2026 budget despite the Presidency insisting that no such agency exists under the Federal Government.
However, the concil’s self-styled Director General, Adeniyi Adeyemi, maintained that his appointment was valid.
He also denied allegations that he forged his appointment letter and accused the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, of receiving money through an intermediary in connection with the appointment.
Following the development, Gbajabiamila petitioned security agencies over the alleged impersonation of the Presidency and the use of documents purportedly linked to the agency, leading to investigations by the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies.
Adeyemi was subsequently arrested and detained by the police before being arraigned over allegations bordering on forgery, impersonation, and related offences.
As part of its ongoing probe into the matter, the House committee also invited officials of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, and security agencies.
While appearing before the House committee earlier this week, the Director of Banking Services at the CBN, Abdullahi Hamisu, disclosed that the apex bank opened two accounts for the disputed council on the instruction of the Office of the Accountant-General but confirmed that neither account had been activated or received any funds.
Hamisu told the committee that no foreign exchange allocation, remittance or transaction had been processed because no authorised signatories were designated to operate the accounts.
“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 said.
The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack, also denied claims that her office allocated office accommodation or posted personnel to the council.
“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.
Walson-Jack also dismissed reports that the council occupied office space within the Federal Secretariat.
“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,” she said.
As public outrage intensified over the agency’s inclusion in the federal budget, President Tinubu, on Tuesday, July 7, directed the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate how the council was inserted into the 2026 Appropriation Act despite not being recognised by the Federal Government, and the report to be submitted within 30 days.
The President also ordered that everyone found culpable in the alleged budget insertion be identified and prosecuted in accordance with the law, while directing relevant authorities to unravel the circumstances that led to the controversial allocation.
The ICPC has already commenced a probe into the matter in line with President Bola Tinubu’s directive, with Gbajabiamila among those invited for questioning.
