By Ahmed Yusuf
National News – The Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Tanimu Yakubu, has told the House of Representatives that no money was released or spent from the N1.32 billion appropriated to the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) in the 2026 budget.
Yakubu made the clarification on Friday while appearing before the House Ad-Hoc Committee investigating the alleged unlawful establishment and funding of the council.
He explained that although provisions were made for the council in the 2026 Appropriation Act, the Budget Office withheld the mandatory financial clearance required before any recruitment, payroll enrolment or salary payments could commence.
According to him, the Budget Office neither created the council nor approved its establishment, recruitment or budget code, stressing that its role was limited to assessing the fiscal implications of approvals received from relevant government authorities.
“The Budget Office did not create the council, approve its establishment or authorise recruitment. Our responsibility was simply to evaluate the financial implications of official approvals presented to us,” Yakubu said.
He disclosed that while the council proposed N3.8 billion for personnel costs, the Budget Office rejected the estimate and independently calculated a lower figure of N802.98 million based on the approved establishment and public service salary structure.
Yakubu, however, insisted that the personnel allocation remained untouched because financial clearance was never issued.
“There was no financial clearance, no lawful recruitment, no payroll enrolment and no salary payment. Not one naira of the personnel allocation was drawn,” he said.
The Budget Office boss further stated that the N200 million overhead allocation was also never released because treasury warrants and cash backing were not issued.
Similarly, he said the N300 million capital allocation was never accessed as procurement processes required by law were not completed.
“No Ministerial Tenders Board approved any transaction, no Certificate of No Objection was issued, and no treasury warrant or cash backing followed,” he added.
Yakubu maintained that Nigeria’s financial control mechanisms worked as intended by preventing expenditure before any funds could be spent.
During the hearing, committee members questioned the legal basis for including the council in the national budget after examining what they described as a questionable document purporting to establish the agency.
A member of the committee, Rep. Abubakar Fulata, argued that the document lacked essential features of a valid Act of Parliament, including a gazette number, the signature of the Clerk of the National Assembly and presidential assent.
Responding, Yakubu said the Budget Office relied on official establishment approvals, recruitment waivers and salary directives issued by the appropriate statutory authorities in preparing its recommendations.
Committee Chairman, Rep. Yusuf Gagdi, defended the Budget Office, saying evidence before the panel showed it acted based on documents submitted by relevant government agencies.
He noted that the investigation had now shifted to determining how allegedly forged documents entered official government processes.
Gagdi also announced that the Accountant-General of the Federation would appear before the committee on Monday to explain how the PFIPC obtained its budget code, adding that the panel expects to conclude its investigation next week.
