The Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Dr. Tanimu Yakubu, has told the House of Representatives that no public funds were released to the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), despite its inclusion in the federal budget.
Yakubu made the clarification on Friday while appearing before the House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee investigating the establishment and budgetary provisions of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council/Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PEAC/PFIPC), chaired by Hon. Yusuf Gagdi.
He explained that the council was captured in the national budget through official government approvals and established administrative procedures, stressing that the Budget Office neither created nor approved the council.
According to him, the council traced its origin to the Presidential Economic Advisory Council inaugurated by former President Muhammadu Buhari on October 9, 2019.
Yakubu said the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation assigned the council a budget code, while the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation approved its establishment and granted a recruitment waiver.
He maintained that the Budget Office’s role was limited to assessing the financial implications of approvals received from the relevant government institutions.
“The Budget Office did not create the Council. It did not assign the code. It did not approve the establishment. It acted on documents issued through recognised government channels,” he said.
Yakubu disclosed that although the council requested ₦3.85 billion for personnel costs, the Budget Office reviewed the proposal and reduced it to ₦802.98 million, based on the approved establishment, recruitment waiver, and applicable public service salary structure.
He added that while the National Assembly appropriated the funds, no money was released because the Budget Office never issued the required financial clearance.
According to him, the absence of financial clearance meant there was no lawful recruitment, payroll enrolment, or salary payment.
“There was no lawful recruitment. There was no payroll enrolment. There was no salary payment. Not one kobo of the personnel provision could lawfully have been drawn, and not one kobo was drawn,” Yakubu stated.
He further explained that the council’s ₦200 million overhead allocation and ₦300 million capital provision also remained untouched because treasury approvals, procurement processes, and cash backing were never granted.
Yakubu revealed that following concerns over the council’s legal status in June 2026, the Budget Office directed the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Office of the Accountant-General to suspend all payment processes relating to the council.
During the hearing, committee member Hon. Abubakar Fulata questioned the authenticity of the council’s establishment documents, alleging that they lacked the Clerk to the National Assembly’s signature, were not gazetted, and were not backed by an Executive Order.
Chairman of the committee, Hon. Yusuf Gagdi, commended the Budget Office Director-General for clarifying the circumstances surrounding the council’s inclusion in the federal budget.
