By Derick Peretengboro

The Budget Office of the Federation has clarified the circumstances surrounding the inclusion of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) in the 2026 federal budget, stating that the body’s roots can be traced to an advisory council created during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.

Director-General of the Budget Office, Tanimu Yakubu, made the clarification while addressing the House of Representatives committee investigating the controversial budget allocation to the council. He stressed that the Budget Office neither established the agency nor approved its creation, but merely carried out its statutory responsibility after receiving official government documents.

Yakubu explained that the council evolved from the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC), inaugurated in October 2019. According to him, before the 2026 budget was prepared, the Office of the Accountant-General had already assigned the council an administrative code, while the Office of the Head of the Civil Service approved its establishment and granted a recruitment waiver.

He disclosed that although the council initially proposed personnel costs of about ₦3.85 billion, the Budget Office independently reviewed the request and reduced the amount to approximately ₦802.98 million using approved government salary structures and established budgeting guidelines.

The Budget Office boss, however, emphasized that the appropriation never translated into actual spending. He explained that the agency failed to obtain the mandatory Financial Clearance required before any recruitment, salary payments or release of public funds could occur.

Yakubu further stated that after concerns emerged over the council’s legal status, the Budget Office instructed the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Office of the Accountant-General to halt every payment process connected to the council. As a result, no money was released and no public funds were spent on the agency despite the allocation contained in the Appropriation Act.

The clarification comes amid an ongoing investigation into the PFIPC controversy, following claims by the Presidency that the council was not a recognized government agency. Lawmakers are continuing their probe to determine how the body was included in the 2026 budget and whether any public officials breached due process.