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The Budget Office of the Federation has told the House of Representatives that no money appropriated for the controversial Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), also known as the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC), was released or spent despite the N1.3 billion allocation captured in the 2026 Appropriation Act.
Director-General of the Budget Office, Tanimu Yakubu, disclosed this on Friday while appearing before the House of Representatives ad hoc committee investigating the establishment of the council and the budgetary allocation approved for it.
He maintained that none of the statutory conditions required for accessing public funds was fulfilled, making it impossible for any expenditure to occur.
Yakubu explained that although lawmakers approved allocations for personnel, overhead and capital expenditure, the Budget Office withheld the financial clearance needed to activate the funds.
He stressed that no recruitment was approved, no personnel were placed on the payroll, and no procurement process commenced.
“The conclusion is clear. 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, while the capital provision never progressed into procurement or expenditure because the conditions required by law were never satisfied,” Yakubu told the committee.
He added that the Budget Office also instructed 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 intensified after Adeniyi Adeyemi publicly identified himself as the Director-General of the council, despite repeated denials by the Presidency that the agency was ever 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 insisted his appointment was legitimate.
He also denied allegations of forging his appointment letter and accused the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, of receiving money through an intermediary in connection with the appointment.
Gbajabiamila rejected the allegation and instituted legal action, while Adeyemi was subsequently arrested in Osun State.
As part of its investigation, the House committee has summoned officials of the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation and relevant security agencies to provide further clarification on the matter.
Earlier in the week, the Central Bank confirmed that it opened two accounts for the disputed council on the instruction of the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation but disclosed that neither account had been activated or funded. CBN Director of Banking Services, Abdullahi Hamisu, told lawmakers that no foreign exchange allocation, remittance or banking transaction had taken place because authorised signatories were never designated to operate the accounts.
Similarly, the 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 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.
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has also commenced an investigation into the controversy following President Bola Tinubu’s directive, with several key officials, including Gbajabiamila, invited as part of the ongoing probe.
