The Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Tanimu Yakubu, says the agency prevented the release of funds to a fake agency, the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), by activating multiple financial control measures.

Mr Yakubu, who stated this during a budget briefing before the House of Representatives panel on Friday, said the agency withheld financial clearance and rejected unsupported budget estimates.

He added that the agency also directed the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation to halt all payment processes after questions arose over the agency’s legal status.

The DG said, “The system didn’t chase a loss. It prevented one. The three provisions trailed one story. The personnel provision stopped a financial clearance. The overhead provision stopped warranting and cash backing. The capital provision stopped before procurement approved and released. Each made a different control; each control held. 

“The Budget Office rejected an unsupported estimate and made its own calculation. It withheld financial clearance when the conditions were incomplete. When doubts arose about the legal status of the council, it had the federal ministry of finance and the office of the Accountant General of the Federation stop all payment instruments.”

Mr Yakubu further noted that no recruitment, procurement, or expenditure was approved, stressing that the system prevented any financial loss before funds could be released.

He added, “No procurement reached the point at which expenditure could arise. No ministerial board approved the transaction. No certificate of no objection was issued.

“No warrant and treasury cash backing followed. The capital provisions remained where parliament had placed it in the Appropriation Act. Subject to law, it never became capital expenditure.”

Mr Yakubu’s statement came days after the embattled director-general of the PFIPC, Adeyemi Matthew Adeniyi, claimed that he personally lobbied officials at the Budget Office to facilitate the inclusion of the controversial agency in the 2026 federal government budget.

Mr Adeyemi, who had accused Femi Gbajabiamila, the chief of staff to the president, of collecting a N400 million bribe from him, was arrested shortly after the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court issued a warrant for his arrest for failing to appear for his arraignment.

However, amid the public outrage trailing Mr Adeyemi’s allegations, President Bola Tinubu ordered the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate Mr Gbajabiamila and others allegedly involved in the PFIPC bribery and forgery scandal.

The arrest of Mr Adeyemi and Mr Gbajabiamila’s appearance before the ICPC followed Mr Tinubu’s order for investigations into the controversial PFIPC scandal and other related matters.