N1.3bn Fake Agency Allocation Exposes Systemic Weaknesses In Budgeting Process—BudgIT

A civil society organisation, BudgIT has urged the Federal Government to immediately launch an independent investigation into the controversial N1.30bn allocation to the purported Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), also referred to as the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC), in the 2026 Appropriation Act, describing the incident as a serious threat to the credibility of Nigeria’s budget process.

The organisation said the controversy surrounding the agency, which has now been publicly disowned by the Presidency, raises fundamental questions about the integrity of Nigeria’s appropriation system and the effectiveness of institutional checks designed to safeguard public resources.

BudgIT said the allocation of over N1.3bn to an agency whose legal existence has been denied by the Presidency underscores systemic failures in the country’s public financial management architecture and demands urgent scrutiny.

The controversy erupted after allegations surfaced on social media following claims by the Director-General of the PFIPC/PEAC, Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, that he allegedly paid N400m to the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, to facilitate his appointment.

The Presidency swiftly rejected the allegation through the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, who described Adeyemi as a “criminal impostor” and maintained that the purported agency does not exist under the Presidency.

However, BudgIT argued that the Presidency’s denial raises even more troubling questions that require immediate public clarification.

According to the organisation, if the agency was indeed fictitious, Nigerians deserve to know how it secured office accommodation within the Federal Secretariat, reportedly operated multiple accounts with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), obtained a budgetary allocation exceeding N1.3bn in the 2026 Appropriation Act, navigated the various stages of the federal budget process, and engaged with government institutions, diplomatic missions and development partners before its legitimacy was questioned.

BudgIT said its review of previous federal budgets revealed that neither the PFIPC nor the PEAC appeared as budgeted entities under the Presidency in the 2023, 2024 and 2025 Appropriation Acts.

“The sudden appearance of the agency in the 2026 budget raises legitimate concerns regarding the process through which it was introduced, reviewed and eventually approved,” the organisation stated.

The civic-tech organisation noted that the incident is not an isolated occurrence but reflects longstanding deficiencies in Nigeria’s budgeting framework.

It recalled that in its report on National Assembly Insertions in the 2025 Budget, it identified 11,122 projects valued at N6.93tn allegedly inserted into the federal budget without adequate justification.

The projects accounted for approximately 12.5 per cent of the N54.99tn national budget, highlighting persistent weaknesses in legislative scrutiny and fiscal transparency.

BudgIT maintained that the latest controversy reinforces concerns over unexplained budget insertions, weak oversight mechanisms and institutional lapses that continue to undermine accountability in public expenditure.

The organisation stressed that beyond the allegations against individuals, the more significant issue is the apparent collapse of institutional safeguards across multiple government agencies responsible for preparing, reviewing and approving the national budget.

It observed that the federal budgeting process passes through several layers of scrutiny involving Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), the Budget Office of the Federation, the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, the Presidency, the National Assembly and other oversight institutions.

According to BudgIT, the successful appropriation of more than N1.3bn to an entity now publicly disowned by the Presidency raises serious questions about how all these institutions failed to detect and prevent the anomaly.

It warned that whether the allocation resulted from administrative negligence, deliberate manipulation or institutional compromise, Nigerians deserve a full and transparent explanation.

“The credibility of the national budget as the country’s foremost fiscal policy document depends on the integrity of the processes through which public resources are allocated,” the organisation said.

BudgIT therefore called on the Presidency, the Budget Office of the Federation, the National Assembly, the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, the Central Bank of Nigeria, anti-corruption agencies and law enforcement authorities to immediately institute an independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the controversial allocation.

According to the organisation, the investigation should establish how the purported agency found its way into the 2026 federal budget, identify all public officials and institutions involved throughout the appropriation process, determine whether any public funds have been released to the agency, and ensure that any individual found culpable is prosecuted in accordance with the law.

BudgIT warned that Nigeria cannot continue to tolerate recurring breaches of budget integrity, stressing that restoring public confidence in the nation’s fiscal governance requires greater transparency, stronger institutional oversight and far-reaching reforms capable of preventing similar occurrences in future budget cycles.