Budget Office: PFIPC Originated Under Buhari, No Funds Released Despite 2026 Budget Allocation

‎The Budget Office of the Federation (BOF) has clarified that the controversial Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), which is under investigation by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), did not originate under the current administration but traces its roots to the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.

The clarification was made on Thursday by the Director-General of the Budget Office, Mr. Tanimu Yakubu, following his appearance before the House of Representatives in Abuja.
Yakubu explained that the PFIPC evolved from the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC), which was inaugurated by the late President Muhammadu Buhari on October 9, 2019.

He said that by the time preparations for the 2026 federal budget commenced, all necessary administrative instruments establishing the council had already been issued by relevant government institutions.

According to him, the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation assigned the council an administrative code, while the Office of the Head of the Civil Service approved its establishment and granted a recruitment waiver. He added that the Budget Office merely carried out its statutory responsibility by assessing the fiscal implications of those approvals.

‎”The Budget Office did not create the council, assign its administrative code, approve its establishment, or grant its recruitment waiver. Those decisions were made by the appropriate government institutions, and the Budget Office simply evaluated their financial impact as required by law,” Yakubu stated.

He disclosed that although the council initially proposed a personnel budget of ₦3.85 billion for the 2026 fiscal year, the Budget Office independently reduced the figure to ₦802.98 million after applying the approved staffing structure, salary framework, recruitment waiver, and official costing methodology.

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‎Yakubu stressed that the reduced allocation reflected the Budget Office’s independent fiscal assessment and was the amount included in the Executive Budget before it was eventually approved by the National Assembly.

The Director-General further explained that despite the appropriation, the PFIPC was never authorized to recruit staff or access personnel funds because it failed to obtain the mandatory Financial Clearance required before any recruitment or salary payments could commence.

‎He noted that Financial Clearance serves as official confirmation that all fiscal and regulatory conditions have been satisfied before personnel expenditures can begin.

According to him, after the 2026 Appropriation Act received presidential assent on March 31, 2026, another critical requirement remained outstanding because the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission had not certified the council’s proposed staffing and remuneration structure.

“As a result, no Financial Clearance was issued, no staff were recruited, no payroll records were created, and no salaries were paid,” he said.

‎Yakubu also dismissed suggestions that the council had unrestricted access to the appropriated funds, explaining that personnel allocations are not released to agencies as lump-sum payments but are paid monthly through the Federal Government payroll system directly into the accounts of verified employees.

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‎He maintained that since no recruitment took place, none of the ₦802.98 million personnel allocation could legally be accessed or spent.

“There is no personnel expenditure to recover because no personnel expenditure ever occurred,” he added.

‎The PFIPC controversy became public on June 11, 2026, after the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, declared the council illegal and petitioned law enforcement agencies to investigate its activities.

‎However, the council’s Director-General, Prince Adeyemi Adeniyi, rejected the Presidency’s position, alleging that Gbajabiamila received ₦400 million through a proxy and later demanded an additional ₦200 million to facilitate his appointment. The Chief of Staff denied the allegations and subsequently filed a ₦15 billion defamation suit against Adeniyi.

‎Adeniyi is currently in police custody over allegations linked to the PFIPC scandal, including forgery.

‎Before his arrest, he claimed to have personally lobbied officials of the Budget Office to secure the inclusion of the council in the 2026 federal budget.

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‎Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has confirmed that it opened two domiciliary accounts for the PFIPC one in U.S. dollars and another in British pounds following a directive from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.

The apex bank, however, emphasized that neither account was ever funded or operated.