Budget Office Clears Air on Fake Agency Scandal

The Budget Office of the Federation has said that no public money was given to the non-existent Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC). They said spending was stopped because of strict rules that control how funds are used.

In a statement on Friday, Tanimu Yakubu, the Director General of the Budget Office, said many people confused what the parliament approved with actual government spending. He stressed that the budget never moved beyond approval.

“The money never moved because the controls held,” Mr Yakubu said.

This statement comes as investigations continue into the PFIPC. The police, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), and the National Assembly are looking into the council’s activities and its inclusion in the 2026 Appropriation Act.

The police have arrested Adeniyi Adeyemi, who claimed to be the Director General of the council. He is facing charges of forgery and impersonation in an eight-count charge.

President Bola Tinubu has ordered the ICPC to investigate the case and submit a report within 30 days.

The National Assembly has also called several leaders of government agencies who approved the non-existent agency's budget. PREMIUM TIMES reported that the Budget Office did not properly check the PFIPC before giving it a budget code.

Mr Yakubu explained that even though the National Assembly approved N1.3 billion for the council, which included N802 million for personnel, N200 million for overhead, and N300 million for capital expenditure, none of the conditions needed for spending public funds were met.

He said there was no procurement plan approved. No Ministerial Tenders Board looked at any transaction, no Bureau of Public Procurement Certificate of No Objection was issued, and there were no treasury releases.

He added that the Budget Office never issued the Financial Clearance needed before any agency can hire staff or start salary payments. According to him, the PFIPC did not meet the standards set by the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC).

Mr Yakubu also mentioned that the Budget Office asked for all payment processes related to the agency to be stopped after concerns about its legal status arose.

“As a result, there was no Financial Clearance, no lawful recruitment, no payroll enrolment and no salary payment,” he said.

“Not one kobo of the personnel provision could lawfully have been drawn, and not one kobo was drawn.”

He also clarified that the Budget Office did not create the PFIPC or approve its setup. The Accountant-General had already given the council an administrative budget code. Meanwhile, the Office of the Head of the Civil Service had granted an establishment approval and recruitment waiver before the Budget Office received the budget proposal.

He said the Budget Office’s job was only to check the financial effects of those approvals. Mr Yakubu noted that even though the council asked for N3.85 billion for personnel costs, the Budget Office turned down that request and calculated the personnel needs based on approved staffing and salary structures.

This calculation gave a personnel estimate of N802 million, which was included in the Executive Budget proposal and approved by the National Assembly.

“It was not a compromise with the council. It was an independent fiscal determination,” he said.

Mr Yakubu explained that different agencies have separate powers over approvals for establishment, recruitment, pay, financial clearance, treasury releases, and procurement. This means no single office can turn an approval into public spending.

“The controls did not discover a loss after the event. They prevented the event,” he said.

“There is therefore no personnel expenditure to recover. The money never moved because the controls held.”

PREMIUM TIMES has reported extensively on the fake agency scandal, with the federal government accusing Mr Adeyemi of running the PFIPC, which does not exist.

The issue became public when Femi Gbajabiamila, the Chief of Staff to the President, disowned Mr Adeyemi and the PFIPC. The presidency stated that no such agency exists under President Bola Tinubu and that Mr Adeyemi was never appointed to lead it.

Police started investigations after Mr Gbajabiamila reported to the Inspector-General of Police and the State Security Service (SSS) on 17 October 2025, claiming forgery and impersonation.

Investigators arrested Mr Adeyemi on 27 October 2025 at an office he supposedly ran in the Federal Secretariat in Abuja. They also searched his office and house in Suleja, Niger State, and recovered official letters exchanged with various Ministries, Departments, and Agencies. They found 34 bank accounts linked to him, including nine in the names of fake government agencies.

Mr Adeyemi has insisted he is innocent in statements, interviews, and letters to the authorities. In a chat with social media influencer Martins Otse, known as VeryDarkMan, he denied creating the fake agency’s budget that was included in the 2026 Appropriation Act.

He claimed he was in police custody when the budget was processed. He also changed his earlier stance on whether Mr Gbajabiamila was involved in giving him the ‘appointment letter’ for the disowned agency.

He said he could not confirm if Mr Gbajabiamila was involved or not. Mr Gbajabiamila has since sent him a pre-action notice to withdraw his claims, accusing him of corruption, abuse of office, fraud, and murder, or face a N10 billion defamation suit and criminal charges.

Mr Adeyemi was recently arrested again after a Federal High Court Judge issued a warrant for his arrest due to his repeated failure to appear in court.

Meanwhile, the ICPC has questioned Mr Gbajabiamila as it begins its investigation into the scandal.