Budget Office Clarifies Spending
The Budget Office of the Federation has denied spending any money on the contentious Presidential Economic Advisory Council/Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, known as PEAC/PFIPC.
The director-general of the Budget Office, Tanimu Yakubu, made the clarification Friday when he appeared before the House of Representatives ad hoc committee probing the council’s establishment and budgetary provisions.
Yakubu stressed that while the National Assembly approved funds for the council, the statutory conditions required to release, pay or spend the money were never met.
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“The conclusion is firm. Not one kobo of the personnel provision could lawfully have been drawn, and not one kobo was drawn. The overhead provision never matured into a lawful cash release,” Yakubu said. “The capital provision never matured into procurement or expenditure. The conditions required for spending were not met and were not close to being met. There is therefore no personnel expenditure to recover. The money never moved because the controls held.”
According to him, the Budget Office withheld financial clearance; no recruitment or payroll was approved, and the Federal Ministry of Finance as well as the Office of the Accountant-General were directed to withhold all payment instruments.
Yakubu further clarified that the personnel, overhead and capital provisions never matured into payments or procurement, as the legal and administrative requirements for expenditure were not fulfilled. He noted that the office under his watch would continue to cooperate with the House committee by providing all relevant records and documents to support its position.
Background of Controversy
The Budget Office’s clarification comes amid the controversy over the PFIPC.
Recall that one Adeniyi Adeyemi had paraded himself as the director-general of the agency for months. Photos of him with diplomats and high-profile Nigerians circulated on social media. The agency also had an office space at the Federal Secretariat in Abuja.
Although the presidency issued a rebuttal saying the agency does not exist and has filed charges against him, Adeyemi has insisted that his appointment is legally binding. He dismissed the presidency’s claims that he forged the appointment letter and accused the chief of staff to the president, Femi Gbajabiamila, of collecting money from him through an intermediary for the appointment.
Gbajabiamila has denied the claim and has taken the matter to court. Adeyemi was later arrested in Osun State.
