The Budget Office of the Federation has clarified that no funds were released or spent on the controversial Presidential Economic Advisory Council/Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PEAC/PFIPC), despite budgetary allocations approved for the body.
Director-General of the Budget Office, Tanimu Yakubu, made the disclosure on Friday while appearing before the House of Representatives ad hoc committee investigating the establishment and budgetary provisions of the PEAC/PFIPC.
Yakubu explained that although the National Assembly appropriated funds for the council, the statutory and administrative requirements necessary for the release and expenditure of the funds were never fulfilled.
“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,” he said.
According to the Budget Office chief, financial clearance for the council was withheld, no recruitment or payroll approvals were granted, and both the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation were directed not to process any payment related to the council.
He further stated that the personnel, overhead, and capital allocations never progressed into actual payments or procurement because the legal and administrative conditions for disbursement were not satisfied.
Yakubu assured the committee that the Budget Office would continue to cooperate fully with its investigation by providing all relevant records and documents.
The clarification comes amid ongoing controversy surrounding the PFIPC, following claims by Adeniyi Adeyemi, who publicly presented himself for months as the Director-General of the agency.
Adeyemi was widely seen in photographs alongside diplomats and prominent Nigerians, while the agency reportedly operated from an office within the Federal Secretariat in Abuja.
Although the Presidency has maintained that the agency does not exist and subsequently filed criminal charges against him, Adeyemi has insisted that his appointment was valid.
He also rejected allegations that he forged his appointment letter and accused the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, of receiving money through an intermediary to facilitate his appointment.
Gbajabiamila has denied the allegations and instituted legal action against Adeyemi. The self-acclaimed official was later arrested in Osun State as investigations into the matter continue.
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