No kobo was spent on PEAC, PFIPC, Budget office tells Reps

The Budget Office of the Federation has informed the House of Representatives that no funds appropriated for the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC), also referred to as the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), were ever released or spent. Tanimu Yakubu, the Director-General of the Budget Office, made this disclosure on Friday while appearing before an ad hoc committee investigating the council's establishment and its N1.3 billion budgetary allocation in the 2026 Appropriation Act.

Yakubu firmly concluded that not a single kobo from the personnel provision could lawfully be drawn, and none was. Similarly, the overhead and capital provisions never matured into lawful cash releases or expenditures. He explained that the necessary legal and administrative conditions required before any money could be accessed were never fulfilled. The Budget Office withheld financial clearance, and no recruitment or payroll approvals were granted. Furthermore, the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation were instructed not to process any payments linked to the council.

The controversy surrounding the PFIPC intensified after Adeniyi Adeyemi publicly presented himself as its Director-General, despite the Presidency disavowing the agency's existence. Adeyemi had been seen in photographs with diplomats and senior government officials and reportedly operated from an office within the Federal Secretariat in Abuja. Although the Presidency disowned the agency and initiated criminal proceedings against him, Adeyemi maintained the validity of his appointment.

Adeyemi has denied allegations of forging his appointment letter and has accused the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, of receiving money through an intermediary concerning the appointment. Gbajabiamila has denied this accusation and has initiated legal action. The Budget Office assured the lawmakers of its continued cooperation with the investigation, promising to provide all relevant records and documentation.

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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.