The Budget Office of the Federation has traced the origin of the controversial Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) to an advisory body established under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, amid growing scrutiny over the council's inclusion in the 2026 budget.
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Director-General of the Budget Office, Tanimu Yakubu, said the PFIPC evolved from the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC), which Buhari inaugurated on October 9, 2019.
He maintained that the Budget Office merely processed official government documentation relating to the body and did not create or approve it.
Yakubu made the clarification after appearing before the House of Representatives in Abuja, following questions over how the council received a budgetary allocation despite being disowned by the Presidency and currently under investigation by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
According to him, by the time preparations for the 2026 Appropriation Bill began, key government institutions had already issued administrative approvals recognising the council.
He explained that the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation assigned the body an administrative code, while the Office of the Head of the Civil Service approved its establishment and granted a recruitment waiver.
He added that an approved public service salary structure was also already in place.
"The council did not appear in the budget simply because it requested funding.
"Its institutional roots date back to the Presidential Economic Advisory Council inaugurated under former President Muhammadu Buhari, and the Budget Office acted only on official instruments provided by relevant government agencies," Yakubu said.
The Budget Office chief also disclosed that although the council requested ₦3.85 billion for personnel costs in the 2026 fiscal year, the office rejected the estimate and independently recalculated the figure using approved staffing and salary frameworks.
That review reduced the personnel allocation to ₦802.98 million, which was eventually captured in the Executive Budget proposal and passed by the National Assembly.
Yakubu, however, stressed that the council never accessed the personnel allocation because it failed to obtain the mandatory Financial Clearance required before recruitment, payroll enrolment or salary payments could begin.
He added that the 2026 budget only became law after receiving presidential assent on March 31, 2026, while further approval from the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission was still outstanding.
The Budget Office DG also dismissed claims that the council could have withdrawn the personnel allocation as cash, explaining that such funds are released monthly through the Federal Government payroll system directly to verified employees.
"No recruitment took place, no payroll was opened and no salaries were paid. As a result, not one kobo of the personnel allocation was drawn or spent," Yakubu said.
The explanation comes as the PFIPC remains under investigation by the ICPC after the Presidency publicly distanced itself from the council.
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