Federal financial controls successfully intercepted a N1.3 billion phantom budget allocation to the unapproved Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) before a single naira was paid out, the Budget Office of the Federation revealed.
Despite operating office spaces at the Federal Secretariat and recruiting staff under the guise of an active presidency agency, the council failed to secure mandatory regulatory clearances, effectively locking its appropriated funds in administrative limbo.
In a statement by Tanimu Yakubu, its Director-General, the agency explained that while N1.3 billion was allocated to the council in the 2026 Appropriation Act, the funds remained unreleased due to incomplete regulatory conditions.
The statement follows a growing scandal surrounding the PFIPC, which operated akin to a fully funded government agency despite lacking a formal presidential declaration or legal framework. The controversy intensified after Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, publicly disowned the council, stating it does not exist under the current administration.
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Subsequently, key promoter Adeyemi faulted the presidency’s stance, levelling bribery allegations against Gbajabiamila before being arrested in connection with the scandal and alleged forgery. The Central Bank of Nigeria also confirmed opening two unfunded foreign currency accounts for the body under directives from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF).
Addressing the budget inclusion, Yakubu noted that the PFIPC’s roots trace back to the Presidential Economic Advisory Council established in 2019. The OAGF subsequently assigned it an administrative budget code, while the Office of the Head of the Civil Service granted a recruitment waiver.
However, the Budget Office drastically reduced the council’s original N3.85 billion personnel request to an independent calculation of N802.9 million, alongside N200 million for overheads and N300 million for capital projects.
Crucially, the agency emphasised that an appropriation does not equate to cash authorisation. Final financial clearance was withheld post-presidential assent on March 31, 2026, because the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission had not verified the council’s proposed pay structure.
“Until financial clearance is issued, a personnel provision remains a figure in the budget. It cannot create employees, place anyone on payroll, or produce salary payment,” the agency stated.
The Budget Office maintained that standard public expenditure controls functioned as designed, blocking cash releases for overheads and preventing capital allocations from advancing to procurement. As a result, no public funds were disbursed, no payroll enrolment occurred, and no salaries were paid to the council.
