The Budget Office of the Federation (BOF) has said “not one kobo” of the ₦1.302 billion appropriated for the controversial Presidential Economic Advisory Council/Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PEAC/PFIPC) was released or spent, insisting Nigeria’s expenditure control system prevented public funds from being disbursed to the entity at the centre of an ongoing national scandal.
In a statement issued on Friday by Assistant Director, Head, Information and Public Relations, Afolabi Falulu Olajuwon, the Budget Office said although the National Assembly appropriated funds for PEAC/PFIPC in the 2026 Appropriation Act, the statutory conditions required for expenditure were never fulfilled.
The office maintained that appropriation by Parliament does not automatically authorise spending, noting that public funds can only be released after Financial Clearance, lawful recruitment, payroll enrolment, treasury warranting, cash backing and procurement approvals where necessary.
According to the BOF, none of those conditions was met in the case of PEAC/PFIPC.
It said no Financial Clearance was issued because key regulatory requirements remained outstanding, including confirmation by the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission on the council’s staffing and remuneration structure.
“There was therefore no Financial Clearance. There was no lawful recruitment. There was no payroll enrolment. There was no salary payment,” the office stated.
The Budget Office explained that although PEAC/PFIPC submitted a personnel estimate of ₦3.85 billion, it independently assessed the proposal using approved staffing levels and government costing methodology, reducing the personnel component to ₦802.98 million, which was eventually included in the Executive Budget and approved by the National Assembly.
It added that the council’s ₦200 million overhead allocation never progressed to treasury warranting or cash backing after questions emerged over the body’s legal status.
According to the statement, the Budget Office formally requested the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation to withhold all payment instruments relating to the council, ensuring no funds were released.
Similarly, it said the ₦300 million capital allocation never advanced to procurement, with no Ministerial Tenders Board approval, Bureau of Public Procurement Certificate of No Objection, treasury warrant or cash backing issued.
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“The law did not recover money after it had gone. It prevented the money from going,” the Budget Office said, arguing that the PEAC/PFIPC case demonstrated the resilience of Nigeria’s public finance control system.
The office said it would continue to cooperate with all lawful investigations and provide records and correspondence required to establish the facts.
Background
The PEAC/PFIPC controversy erupted earlier this month after the Presidency declared the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) a fictitious government body that had no legal basis, despite appearing in the 2026 Appropriation Act with a ₦1.302 billion allocation comprising ₦802.98 million for personnel, ₦200 million for overhead and ₦300 million for capital expenditure.
At the centre of the controversy is Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, who presented himself as the Director-General of the disputed council and claimed to have received an appointment linked to the Presidency. The Presidency has maintained that the council was never established by President Bola Tinubu or any lawful government instrument and directed the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate the circumstances under which the entity operated, including alleged forged appointment letters, bank accounts and official documents.
President Tinubu subsequently ordered the ICPC to investigate the matter within 30 days, while the House of Representatives constituted an ad hoc committee to probe how the entity was created and how it secured a budgetary allocation.
The scandal has also drawn in senior government officials. Chief of Staff to the President Femi Gbajabiamila honoured an invitation by the ICPC as part of the investigation after Adeyemi made allegations linking him to the disputed council. The anti-graft agency clarified that Gbajabiamila was not arrested but voluntarily appeared before investigators and later left after answering questions.
Gbajabiamila has denied any wrongdoing and has also instituted legal action against Adeyemi over the allegations.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has filed criminal charges against Adeyemi over allegations that he forged official documents, falsely held himself out as a presidential appointee and used the purported council to seek official recognition and diplomatic support. Adeyemi was arrested before being arraigned as investigations into the affair continued.
Friday’s statement by the Budget Office forms part of the evidence being presented before the House committee investigating the controversy, with the office insisting that although PEAC/PFIPC appeared in the federal budget, “not one kobo” of the appropriated funds was ever released or spent because the statutory expenditure controls remained firmly in place.
