Nigeria's House Probes ₦1.3 Billion Budget for 'Phantom' Agency

The Nigerian government is facing a budgetary scandal after the 2026 Appropriation Act allocated ₦1.3 billion to the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), an entity the Presidency claims is fictitious. The House of Representatives of Nigeria established an ad hoc committee on July 8 to investigate how the phantom agency bypassed scrutiny. The House ordered the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation to freeze all funds for the council and mandated the Budget Office to provide legal proof of establishment for all future agency funding.

In contrast, the Senate of Nigeria rejected a motion by Senator Suleiman Kawu to launch its own probe, opting instead to await a report from the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC). Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin stated that President Bola Tinubu had already directed the ICPC to investigate the matter, with a report due within 30 days.

The controversy centers on Akeem Adeniyi Adeyemi, who posed as the PFIPC's director-general. Adeyemi faces criminal charges for forgery and impersonation but has alleged that Presidential Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila demanded a share of the funds. Gbajabiamila has threatened a ₦10 billion defamation suit in response. Meanwhile, the African Democratic Congress and candidate Atiku Abubakar rejected the ICPC probe as an "in-house investigation," demanding instead an independent judicial panel and the public release of an unredacted report.