By Friday Temitope Eugenia
National News – The Budget Office of the Federation (BOF) has said the controversial Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), which is under investigation after being declared illegal by the Presidency, traces its institutional origin to the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
The clarification was made on Friday by the Director-General of the Budget Office, Tanimu Yakubu, following his appearance before the House of Representatives over the inclusion of the PFIPC in the 2026 federal budget.
Yakubu explained that the Budget Office neither created the council nor initiated its funding, insisting that it only acted on official government documents submitted by relevant authorities.
According to him, the PFIPC evolved from the Presidential Economic Advisory Council established by former President Buhari in October 2019.
He said that before the preparation of the 2026 budget commenced, the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation had assigned the council an administrative code, while the Office of the Head of the Civil Service had approved its establishment and granted a recruitment waiver.
“The Budget Office did not create the Council, assign its administrative code or approve its establishment. It simply received official instruments from the appropriate government institutions and carried out its statutory responsibility of costing the financial implications,” Yakubu said.
Budget Reduced by Over N3 Billion
The Budget Office also disclosed that although the council requested N3.85 billion for personnel costs in the 2026 fiscal year, the agency independently reviewed the request and reduced it to N802.98 million based on approved staffing levels, salary structures and established budgetary guidelines.
Yakubu stressed that the approved personnel allocation reflected the Budget Office’s fiscal assessment rather than the council’s proposal.
No Funds Released
The Director-General maintained that despite the appropriation, no money was released to the PFIPC because it failed to secure the mandatory Financial Clearance required before any recruitment or salary payments could commence.
He explained that Financial Clearance serves as confirmation that all legal, fiscal and regulatory requirements have been met before public funds can be accessed for personnel expenses.
According to him, the 2026 Appropriation Act only became law after presidential assent on March 31, 2026, while additional approval from the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission was still outstanding.
“As a result, there was no lawful recruitment, no payroll enrolment, no salary payment and no personnel expenditure,” he stated.
Yakubu further clarified that personnel allocations are not released to agencies as lump-sum payments but are paid monthly directly into the bank accounts of verified employees on the Federal Government payroll.
He insisted that since no staff were recruited and no payroll records were created, none of the appropriated personnel funds was accessed.
PFIPC Under Investigation
The PFIPC came under public scrutiny in June after the Presidency, through the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, declared the council unauthorised and petitioned security agencies to investigate its activities.
The council’s Director-General, Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, subsequently rejected the Presidency’s position and alleged that he was asked to pay money to facilitate his appointment, allegations that Gbajabiamila denied before filing a ₦15 billion defamation suit against him.
Adeyemi was later arrested by the police over allegations linked to the PFIPC controversy, including alleged forgery.
Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Nigeria has confirmed that two domiciliary accounts linked to the PFIPC were opened on the directive of the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation. However, the apex bank said the dollar and pound sterling accounts were never funded or operated.
