BudgIT demands probe into ₦1.3bn fake presidential agency

‎A civic-tech group has raised alarm over a controversial ₦1.3 billion budget allocation to an agency the Presidency says does not exist, deepening scrutiny of Nigeria’s 2026 Appropriation Act.
‎
‎By Chioma Obinagwam
‎
‎BudgIT, a civic organisation focused on transparency and public finance, has called for an urgent investigation into how ₦1,302,978,784 was allocated to the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), also identified as the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC), in the 2026 budget, Confiance News gathered.
‎
‎It was learned that the controversy erupted on Wednesday, July 1, after the Director-General of PFIPC/PEAC, Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, alleged he paid ₦400 million to the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, to secure his appointment. The Presidency swiftly distanced itself from the claims. Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, described Adeyemi as a “criminal impostor” and insisted the agency does not exist under the Presidency, Confiance News confirmed.
‎
‎However, BudgIT noted that the Presidency’s denial raises more questions than it answers. The organisation asked how a supposedly non-existent agency secured office space within the Federal Secretariat, operated multiple Central Bank of Nigeria accounts, received a budgetary line exceeding ₦1.3 billion, and engaged government institutions and diplomatic missions, all before its legitimacy was publicly challenged.
‎
‎It was gathered that a review of previous Appropriation Acts by BudgIT showed the PFIPC/PEAC was absent from the 2023, 2024, and 2025 federal budgets, making its sudden emergence in the 2026 budget a fresh concern for fiscal watchdogs.
‎
‎BudgIT tied the incident to a broader pattern of budget irregularities in Nigeria. Confiance News learned that the organisation’s National Assembly Insertions in the 2025 Budget report earlier uncovered 11,122 projects worth ₦6.93 trillion inserted without adequate justification, representing about 12.5 percent of the ₦54.99 trillion federal budget.
‎
‎The group stressed that the case exposes deeper cracks in Nigeria’s institutional checks, spanning Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), the Budget Office of the Federation, the Office of the Accountant General, the Presidency, and the National Assembly. It was sighted by Confiance News that BudgIT questioned how these layers of oversight failed simultaneously to block the allocation.
‎
‎BudgIT has since called on the Presidency, the Budget Office of the Federation, the National Assembly, the Office of the Accountant-General, the Office of the Head of the Civil Service, the Central Bank of Nigeria, and anti-corruption agencies to launch an independent probe. The organisation wants investigators to trace how the agency entered the budget, identify officials involved at every stage, confirm whether funds were disbursed, and ensure accountability for anyone found culpable.
‎
‎The statement was signed by Vahyala Kwaga, Country Director of BudgIT.
‎
‎