Budget Office: Expenditure Controls Blocked N1.3bn Payment to Fake Agency

Nigeria's Budget Office has asserted that stringent expenditure controls successfully prevented the release of public funds to a controversial entity, the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC). The office insists that while the National Assembly approved budgetary provisions for the council in the 2026 budget, the necessary legal and administrative conditions for accessing these funds were never met.

Director General of the Budget Office, Tanimu Yakubu, appeared before a House of Representatives committee investigating the matter. He clarified that the appropriated amount remained a statutory provision and never materialized into actual expenditure. Yakubu stressed that Nigeria's public finance safeguards functioned as intended, halting fund releases before any payments could occur.

The controversy surrounding the PFIPC intensified after its inclusion in the federal budget became public, sparking debate about its legitimacy. The situation escalated with the arrest of Adeniyi Adeyemi, who claimed to be the Director-General of the non-existent PFIPC. Adeyemi's arrest followed a court warrant issued after the federal government accused him of operating an agency that does not exist.

President Bola Tinubu ordered an investigation by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) after the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, disowned both Adeyemi and the PFIPC. Yakubu maintained that the Budget Office did not create the council but merely costed personnel requirements based on existing government instruments. He reiterated that "not one kobo" of the personnel allocation was drawn, and neither overhead nor capital provisions were lawfully released, as the process requires multiple institutional approvals, and failure at any stage stops the chain.

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An appropriation is authority in law to make provision for an expenditure. It is not a cheque. It is not a warrant. It is not cash released from the Treasury. Before money can move, other conditions must be met. Different institutions must act. Each must complete its own part. If one condition fails, the chain stops. That is what happened here.