Budget Office: We Withheld Financial Clearance for PFIPC over Incomplete Requirements

The budget office of the federation says financial clearance was not issued to the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) because the “required conditions were incomplete”.

In a statement issued by Tanimu Yakubu, its director-general, the budget office said without the clearance, the council’s financial allocations remain a figure in the budget.

THE CASE

Without a legal framework or presidential declaration, PFIPC operated akin to a government agency, complete with an allocation in the 2026 budget, an office space at the federal secretariat, while recruiting staff members.

A review of the 2026 Appropriation Act indicates that the Presidential Economic Advisory Council/Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council is expressly listed under the presidency, with a total budget of N1,302,978,784.

The allocation includes N802,978,783 for personnel costs, N200,000,001 for overhead expenditure and N300,000,000 for capital projects.

The PFIPC controversy came to the fore on June 11, 2026, when Femi Gbajabiamila, chief of staff to the president, issued a statement in which he said the PFIPC does not exist under the Tinubu administration.

However, at a press conference on June 26, Adeyemi faulted the presidency’s disclaimer.

He alleged that Gbajabiamila received N400 million through a proxy and demanded an additional N200 million to secure his appointment — an allegation denied by the chief of staff.

Adeyemi is currently in custody after he was arrested in connection with the PFIPC scandal and alleged forgery.

Prior to his arrest, Adeyemi claimed he personally approached officials of the budget office to seek the inclusion of the organisation in the federal government’s budget.

Recently, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) confirmed that it opened two domiciliary accounts linked to the PFIPC on the directive of the office of the accountant-general of the federation (OAGF).

The apex bank, however, said the accounts, one denominated in United States dollars and the other in British pounds sterling, were never funded or operated.

‘PFIPC ENTERED THE BUDGET THROUGH OFFICIAL INSTRUMENTS’

In the statement, the budget office said the PFIPC’s institutional origin was premised on the presidential economic advisory council inaugurated by President Muhammadu Buhari on October 9, 2019.

The budget office said the OAGF assigned an administrative budget code to the PFIPC.

“Without that code, a spending body cannot be recognised for budgeting, appropriated as a spending unit, or subsequently participate in the expenditure process,” the budget office said.

“An authorised establishment and a recruitment waiver had also been issued by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.

“The relevant public-service salary structure existed. These instruments predated and stood apart from the Council’s later request for budgetary provision.”

The budget office said it did not issue administrative budget code nor approve recruitment for the council, adding that the office only acted on documents issued by government agencies.

“The Council asked for N3,850,935,000.00 as personnel cost. That figure did not form the basis of the Budget Office’s recommendation. The Budget Office disregarded the unsupported estimate and made its own calculation,” the budget office said.

“It used only the authorised establishment, the approved recruitment waiver, the applicable public-service salary structure and the established personnel-cost methodology.

“The calculation produced N802,978,783.00. That was the amount placed in the Executive Budget proposal and later appropriated. It was not a compromise with the Council. It was not a reduced version of the Council’s request. It was an independent fiscal determination.”

The budget office said the financial clearance is issued as “formal confirmation that the fiscal and regulatory conditions for recruitment have been met”.

“Until Financial Clearance is issued, a personnel provision remains a figure in the budget. It cannot create employees. It cannot place anyone on payroll. It cannot produce a salary payment,” the agency said.

“The Budget Office did not issue Financial Clearance for PEAC/PFIPC because the required conditions were incomplete.

“The 2026 Appropriation Bill did not become law until Presidential Assent on 31 March 2026. Before assent, the Budget Office could cost the proposal and prepare the Executive Budget. It could not issue final Financial Clearance against a bill that had not become law.

“After assent, another requirement remained outstanding. The National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission had not confirmed that the proposed staffing and remuneration arrangements complied with its prescribed template and the approved public-service compensation framework.

“The Budget Office could still estimate personnel cost from the instruments available to it. It could not lawfully open the gate to recruitment while that regulatory confirmation remained outstanding

“The result followed at once. There was no financial clearance. There was no lawful recruitment. There was no payroll enrolment. There was no salary payment.”

The budget office said there is a series of approvals from different agencies before public expenditure is approved, adding that in the PFIPC case, the sequence did not fail but stopped the expenditure before it began

The budget office added that the overhead provision did not lead to cash release and the capital provision did not mature into procurement.