PFIPC Scandal: Reps to quiz Accountant-General over N1.32b budget

The Accountant-General of the Federation, Shamseldeen Ogunjimi, is billed to appear before the House of Representatives ad hoc committee today over the controversial budgetary allocation to the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), an agency the federal government has described as non-existent.

The committee, chaired by Yusuf Gagdi, is investigating how the council allegedly secured office accommodation at the Federal Secretariat in Abuja and received more than N1.32 billion in the 2026 Appropriation Act despite lacking legal recognition.

At today’s hearing, lawmakers are expected to question Ogunjimi on how the PFIPC obtained a government budget code, paving the way for its inclusion in the 2026 federal budget.

Since the commencement of the probe, the committee has heard from several top government officials whose testimonies have highlighted apparent gaps in administrative processes that allowed the agency to function as though it had official government approval.

Among those who have appeared before the lawmakers are the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs Didi Walson-Jack; the Director of Banking Services at the Central Bank of Nigeria, Abdullahi Hamisu; and the Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Mr Tanimu Yakubu.

The probe gained further attention following the arrest of Adeyemi Adeniyi, who allegedly posed as the PFIPC’s Director-General and claimed he paid N400 million through an intermediary to the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, to secure the appointment.

The presidency and Gbajabiamila have denied any link to Adeniyi, describing him as an impostor and distancing themselves from the alleged agency.

The committee is also expected to hear from the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume; Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu; Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu; Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele; and Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi.

𝕤𝕖𝕖 𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕖/𝕨𝕒𝕥𝕔𝕙 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕧𝕚𝕕𝕖𝕠 𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖