The Budget Office of the Federation has told the House of Representatives that no money approved for the controversial Presidential Economic Advisory Council/Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) was ever released or spent.
Director-General of the Budget Office, Tanimu Yakubu, made the disclosure on Friday, July 24, while appearing before the House of Representatives ad hoc committee investigating the creation 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 conditions required before public funds could be accessed were never fulfilled.
He said, “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.”
According to him, the Budget Office refused to grant financial clearance for the council, while no recruitment or payroll approvals were issued.
He added that the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation were also instructed not to process any payments linked to the organisation.
Yakubu stressed that allocations meant for personnel, overhead and capital projects never progressed beyond the budget stage because the statutory requirements for spending public funds were not met.
He assured lawmakers that the Budget Office would continue to cooperate fully with the investigation by providing all relevant documents.
The controversy surrounding the PFIPC began after Adeniyi Adeyemi publicly claimed to be the council’s Director-General, despite the Presidency insisting that the agency does not exist.
Adeyemi was seen at several official events alongside diplomats and senior government officials and reportedly operated from an office within the Federal Secretariat in Abuja.
Although the Presidency later disowned the organisation and filed criminal charges against him, Adeyemi maintained that his appointment was genuine.
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He also denied forging his appointment letter and accused the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, of receiving money through an intermediary to facilitate his appointment.
Gbajabiamila has rejected the allegation and instituted legal action, while Adeyemi was later arrested in Osun State.
As part of its investigation, the House committee has also questioned officials from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation and security agencies.
Earlier this week, the CBN confirmed that it opened two accounts for the disputed council following a request from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation but said neither account was activated or funded.
Director of Banking Services at the CBN, Abdullahi Hamisu, told the lawmakers, “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.”
The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack, also denied reports that her office deployed staff or allocated office space to the council.
She said, “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.”
On the issue of office accommodation, she added, “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.”
Meanwhile, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) is continuing its investigation into the alleged fake agency following President Bola Tinubu’s directive.
As part of the probe, the commission has invited several individuals, including Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila, to provide statements.