Budget Office says N1.3 billion PEAC/PFIPC appropriation never reached cash release

The Budget Office of the Federation has said the N1.3 billion appropriation for the Presidential Economic Advisory Council/Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PEAC/PFIPC) never became actual government expenditure because the required payroll, cash release and procurement processes were not completed.

This is contained in a statement signed by Tanimu Yakubu, Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation, on Friday.

The Budget Office said the National Assembly’s appropriation of funds for PEAC/PFIPC was not in dispute, but stressed that an appropriation is only legal authority to make provision for expenditure and does not automatically constitute a cheque, warrant or cash release.

The agency said the N1.303 billion provision was stopped at different stages of the public finance process, with no personnel expenditure, overhead cash release or capital procurement taking place.

What the budget office is saying

The Budget Office said the public argument surrounding the appropriation had often begun at the wrong point because the legal provision of funds was being confused with actual expenditure.

The agency said public finance powers are divided among different institutions, meaning that no single office can create an agency, approve staff, place employees on payroll, release funds, procure assets and spend an appropriation without the required approvals.

• “An appropriation is authority in law to make provision for an expenditure. It is not a cheque. It is not a warrant. It is not cash released from the Treasury.”
• “No single approval is enough. No single office can carry an appropriation from the statute book into a bank account.”
• “In the case of PEAC/PFIPC, the chain never opened.”
• “Not one kobo of the personnel provision could lawfully have been drawn. Not one kobo was drawn. There is no personnel expenditure to recover because there was no personnel expenditure.”

The Budget Office said the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation handles establishment and recruitment approvals, while the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission regulates remuneration. The Budget Office assesses fiscal implications and issues Financial Clearance, while the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation control warrants, releases, cash backing and payment.

Backstory

The Budget Office said the council’s institutional origins lay in the Presidential Economic Advisory Council inaugurated by former President Muhammadu Buhari on October 9, 2019.

• It said the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation assigned the council an administrative budget code, while an authorised establishment and recruitment waiver were issued by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.
• The Budget Office said it did not create the council, assign its budget code, approve its establishment or grant the recruitment waiver.
• The council had requested N3.85 billion for personnel costs, but the Budget Office said it independently calculated the requirement at N802.98 million using the authorised establishment, approved recruitment waiver, applicable salary structure and established personnel-cost methodology.
• That figure was subsequently included in the Executive Budget proposal and appropriated.
• The budget office said N802.98 million personnel provision, representing 61.63% of the total N1.303 billion appropriation, never became payroll expenditure because Financial Clearance was not issued.

The 2026 Appropriation Act received Presidential Assent on March 31, 2026.

The National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission had not confirmed that the proposed staffing and remuneration arrangements complied with the approved public-service compensation framework, the statement noted.

In June 2026, after questions arose about the legal status of the council, the Budget Office said it formally notified the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation to withhold every instrument that could support payment.

The N300 million capital provision also did not reach procurement. No procurement plan was completed, no Ministerial Tenders Board approved a transaction, no Certificate of No Objection was issued where required, and no warrant or Treasury cash backing followed, the agency noted.

What you should know

Nairametrics earlier reported that Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) confirmed that it invited the Chief of Staff to the President, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila, to “gather facts” regarding the alleged fake Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC).

The President directed the ICPC to investigate not only Adeyemi’s activities but also those of any collaborators and the circumstances that may have enabled the alleged fake agency to appear legitimate.

The probe will examine the alleged forgery of appointment letters and other government documents, claims of presidential appointments allegedly used to obtain official recognition and diplomatic support, including visa facilitation, as well as the opening and operation of bank accounts in the names of the purported agencies.