Explain N1.3bn Budget Allocation To Fake Presidential Promotion Council— Atiku Tells Tinubu Govt 

Former vice-president Atiku Abubakar has asked the President Bola Tinubu-led federal government to explain the N1.3 billion allocation to the purported Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) in the 2026 budget.

The former vice-president spoke on Thursday in response to a statement by the presidency dismissing the PFIPC as a “fictitious” agency and accusing Adeniyi Adeyemi, the convener, of forging an appointment letter to present himself as its director-general.

On Wednesday, the presidency said Adeyemi forged documents to present himself as a presidential appointee and head of the PFIPC.

The special adviser to the president on information and strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said the chief of staff to the president, Femi Gbajabiamila, petitioned the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) in October 2025 after complaints about the agency.

The police have since arrested Adeyemi, recovered forged documents, discovered 34 bank accounts linked to him and filed an eight-count charge against him and two others at the federal high court in Abuja.

In a statement issued by Phrank Shaibu, his senior special assistant on public communication, Atiku said the presidency’s response had exposed deeper institutional failures within the Tinubu administration.

Atiku said the presidency’s explanation failed to account for how the purported agency allegedly found its way into the federal budget.

“On one hand, it insists that the PFIPC never existed and was nothing more than an elaborate scam,” he said.

“On the other hand, public records reportedly reveal that approximately ₦1.3 billion was appropriated for that very council in the 2026 Appropriation Act, listed alongside the Presidential Economic Advisory Council. This contradiction is too monumental to ignore.”

The former vice-president questioned how funds could have been appropriated for an agency the presidency now claims never existed.

“If the agency was fictitious, who prepared the budget estimates bearing its name?” he asked.

“Which ministry submitted them? Which officials defended those estimates before the National Assembly? Which committees scrutinised them? Which lawmakers approved them? Who inserted the allocation into the Appropriation Bill? And ultimately, who signed that budget into law?”

Atiku said the national assembly, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and anti-corruption agencies should also explain their roles in the matter.

“The National Assembly stands thoroughly exposed. Billions of naira allegedly found their way into the national budget for an agency the Presidency now claims never existed, yet lawmakers neither detected the anomaly nor demanded explanations. That is not oversight; it is legislative abdication,” he said.

The former vice-president added that the controversy reflected a broader failure of governance.

“A government that cannot protect the integrity of its own budget cannot be trusted with the destiny of over 200 million Nigerians,” he said.

“A government that cannot distinguish between genuine agencies and fictitious ones has forfeited the moral authority to lecture anyone on transparency and accountability.

“We therefore demand a truly independent investigation that follows the evidence wherever it leads. No sacred cows. No political protection. No selective justice.”