The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has faulted the Budget Office of the Federation for processing the inclusion of the purported Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) in Nigeria’s 2026 federal budget without adequately verifying its legal status.
The finding is contained in the commission’s investigation into the organisation, which the Federal Government has said was never legally established. The ICPC found that the Budget Office relied on an administrative code issued by the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation and establishment-related documents attributed to the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.
However, the commission said the Budget Office did not independently verify the authenticity of those documents or establish the council’s legal foundation before processing its budget proposal.
According to the ICPC, the purported council was allocated about N1.3 billion in the 2026 budget. The provision comprised approximately N802 million for personnel, N200 million for overheads and N300 million for capital expenditure.
The commission found that the purported agency’s budget submission was incomplete. It lacked key supporting documents, including an approved salary structure and authorised establishment and recruitment documentation. Despite those gaps, the Budget Office proceeded with the proposal and calculated the personnel provision using the Consolidated Public Service Salary Structure.
The ICPC said the Budget Office’s own standard operating procedures required officials to identify deficiencies in budget submissions and return proposals for clarification or corrective action. Investigators found that those safeguards were not effectively applied in the PFIPC case.
The commission’s report does not establish that the N1.3 billion was actually spent. It found that the appropriation was made but there was no evidence that the money was released, cash-backed, paid or spent.
That position is consistent with the Budget Office’s earlier testimony to a House of Representatives ad hoc committee. Director-General Tanimu Yakubu said the office did not create the council, assign its budget code or approve its establishment. He said the N1.3 billion provision never translated into expenditure because the statutory conditions for accessing the funds were not met.
Yakubu said there was no financial clearance, lawful recruitment, payroll enrolment or salary payment. The overhead allocation also never reached lawful cash release, while the N300 million capital provision did not proceed to procurement or expenditure.
The controversy centres on how an organisation that the Presidency says was never legally established managed to obtain administrative documentation, enter government budget processes and secure a parliamentary appropriation.
The ICPC has recommended prosecution of Adeniyi Adeyemi, who presented himself as the council’s director-general, over alleged forgery and impersonation. Adeyemi has denied the allegations and is entitled to due process.
The commission has also recommended administrative sanctions concerning public officers whose acts, omissions or negligence may have facilitated the purported council’s activities.
The case exposes a broader weakness in Nigeria’s public-finance controls: an entity can move through multiple government processes without its underlying legal status being independently established.
For policymakers, the episode underscores the need for stronger verification between agencies responsible for government establishments, accounting codes and budget preparation before any new institution is presented for legislative appropriation.
