Budget Office Says PFIPC Traces Back to Buhari Administration, Explains 2026 Budget Allocation

The Budget Office of the Federation (BOF) has clarified that the controversial Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), recently declared a fake agency by the Presidency, originated during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.

The clarification came in a statement issued by the Director-General of the Budget Office, 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 former President Buhari on October 9, 2019. According to him, the agency’s inclusion in the 2026 federal budget was based on official approvals and administrative processes carried out by relevant government institutions—not by the Budget Office itself.

He stated that before the 2026 budget was prepared, the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation had already assigned the council an administrative code, while the Office of the Head of the Civil Service approved its establishment and recruitment waiver. He added that the applicable salary structure for the proposed agency was also in place.

Yakubu stressed that the Budget Office neither created the council nor approved its establishment, explaining that its responsibility was limited to assessing the financial implications of official submissions from relevant agencies.

Addressing concerns over the agency’s budget allocation, the Budget Office boss revealed that the PFIPC initially requested ₦3.85 billion for personnel costs in the 2026 fiscal year. However, after an independent review using approved staffing levels, salary structures, recruitment waivers, and government costing standards, the Budget Office reduced the figure to ₦802.98 million.

He said the reduced amount reflected the office’s own fiscal assessment and was the figure eventually included in the Executive Budget and approved by the National Assembly.

Yakubu further explained that despite the appropriation, the PFIPC never accessed the funds because it failed to obtain Financial Clearance, a mandatory approval confirming that all fiscal and regulatory requirements for recruitment had been met.

According to him, Financial Clearance is a legal requirement before any personnel expenditure can be implemented. Without it, no staff can be recruited, enrolled on the government payroll, or paid salaries.

He noted that the 2026 Appropriation Bill only became law after presidential assent on March 31, 2026, making it impossible for Financial Clearance to be granted before then. Even after the law came into effect, another requirement remained outstanding because the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission had not confirmed compliance with the approved public service compensation framework.

Yakubu emphasized that the absence of Financial Clearance meant there was no lawful recruitment, no payroll enrollment, and no salary payment.

He also dismissed claims that the agency could have accessed the full ₦1.3 billion appropriated for it, explaining that personnel allocations are never released to agencies as lump sums. Instead, salaries are paid directly to verified employees on a monthly basis after all legal conditions have been met.

“As no recruitment took place and no employee was enrolled on the payroll, not a single kobo of the personnel allocation was released or spent,” he maintained.

The PFIPC controversy came to public attention on June 11, 2026, when the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, declared the council illegal and petitioned law enforcement agencies to investigate its operations.

The council’s Director-General, Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, later rejected the Presidency’s position, alleging that Gbajabiamila demanded ₦600 million through intermediaries to facilitate his appointment. The Chief of Staff denied the allegation and subsequently filed a ₦15 billion defamation lawsuit against Adeyemi.

Adeyemi was later arrested by the police over allegations linked to the PFIPC scandal, including forgery, and remains in custody.

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

Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) confirmed that it opened two domiciliary accounts for the PFIPC on the instruction of the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation. The accounts, denominated in U.S. dollars and British pounds sterling, were never funded or operated, the apex bank stated.

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