The Budget Office of the Federation has told the House of Representatives that none of the N1.3 billion approved for the controversial Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), also called the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC), was released or spent, despite its inclusion in the 2026 Appropriation Act.
Budget Office Director-General Tanimu Yakubu disclosed this on Friday while appearing before the House ad hoc committee investigating the council’s creation and the budget approved for it.
Yakubu said the legal requirements for accessing public funds were never met, so no spending could take place. Although lawmakers approved money for salaries, overhead and capital projects, the Budget Office did not grant the financial clearance needed to release the funds. He said no staff were hired, no names were added to the payroll and no procurement process began.
“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 directed the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation not to process any payment connected to the council.
The controversy grew after Adeniyi Adeyemi identified himself as the council’s Director-General, even though the Presidency repeatedly denied creating the agency. Adeyemi attended official events with diplomats and top government officials and reportedly worked from an office inside the Federal Secretariat in Abuja.
Although the Presidency later disowned the council and began criminal proceedings against him, Adeyemi maintained his appointment was valid. He denied claims of forging his appointment letter and accused the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, of receiving money through an intermediary over the appointment. Gbajabiamila denied the allegation and filed a lawsuit, while Adeyemi was later arrested in Osun State.
As part of its probe, the House committee summoned the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation and security agencies for more clarification.
Earlier this week, the CBN confirmed 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 was activated or funded. CBN Director of Banking Services Abdullahi Hamisu told lawmakers there were no foreign exchange allocations, remittances or banking transactions because no authorised signatories were appointed.
The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack, also denied claims that her office posted workers to the council or provided office space at the Federal Secretariat. She said a request for staff deployment was received but never approved, and no office accommodation was allocated.
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has also begun investigating the matter on President Bola Tinubu’s directive, with several key officials, including Gbajabiamila, invited as the probe continues.
