The Budget Office of the Federation has told the House of Representatives that no funds appropriated for the controversial Presidential Economic Advisory Council/Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PEAC/PFIPC) were released or spent.
Director-General of the Budget Office, Tanimu Yakubu, made the clarification while appearing before the House ad hoc committee investigating the establishment and budgetary provisions of the disputed council.
According to Yakubu, although the National Assembly approved budgetary allocations for the council, the statutory requirements for releasing and spending the funds were never met.
“Our conclusion is clear. Not one kobo of the personnel allocation could lawfully have been drawn, and none was drawn. The overhead allocation never matured into a lawful cash release, while the capital provision never progressed to procurement or expenditure,” he said.
He added that no personnel expenses could be recovered because the funds never left government coffers.
“The conditions required for spending were not met and were nowhere near being met. The money never moved because the established financial controls remained in place,” Yakubu stated.
The Budget Office said it withheld financial clearance for the agency, approved no recruitment or payroll, and directed both the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation to withhold all payment instruments.
It maintained that the personnel, overhead and capital allocations never translated into payments or procurement because the legal and administrative conditions for expenditure were not fulfilled. The office also pledged to continue cooperating with the House committee by providing all relevant records and documents.
The controversy surrounding the PFIPC began after Adeniyi Adeyemi publicly presented himself for months as the agency’s Director-General, with photographs showing him alongside diplomats and prominent Nigerians circulating on social media. He also operated from an office within the Federal Secretariat in Abuja.
The Presidency, however, denied the existence of the agency and accused Adeyemi of forging his appointment letter, leading to criminal charges against him.
Adeyemi has rejected the allegation, insisting his appointment is valid. He also accused the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, of receiving money through an intermediary to facilitate his appointment. Gbajabiamila denied the allegation and has filed a lawsuit over the claims. Adeyemi was later arrested in Osun State.
As part of its investigation, the House committee summoned officials of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), security agencies, the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation and other relevant institutions.
During Monday’s hearing, the CBN disclosed that 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 ever activated or funded.
Director of Banking Services at the CBN, Abdullahi Hamisu, told lawmakers that the accounts recorded no inflows, remittances or foreign exchange allocations because no authorised signatories or operating approvals were ever established.
Also appearing before the committee, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack, denied allocating office space or deploying civil servants to the council.
She explained that while her office received a request for the deployment of officers, it was only acknowledged for consideration and no action was taken.
Walson-Jack also dismissed reports that the PFIPC was officially allocated office accommodation at the Federal Secretariat Phase Three in Abuja, insisting that her office made no such allocation.
The House committee is investigating the circumstances surrounding the council and the ₦1.3 billion appropriated for it in the 2026 Appropriation Act.
Meanwhile, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has invited Gbajabiamila for questioning as part of its investigation into the matter, in line with President Bola Tinubu’s directive.
