The House of Representatives has launched an investigation into how a fictitious government agency allegedly found its way into the 2026 budget with over N1.3 billion earmarked for it.
The House on Wednesday, July 9, constituted an ad hoc committee to probe the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), following claims that the entity has no legal backing but was still captured in the federal appropriation framework.
What the House is Alleging
Moving the motion of urgent public importance, Chairman of the House Committee on Navy, Rep. Yusuf Gagdi, said records before the National Assembly show no law exists to establish the PFIPC.
He told lawmakers that the organization operated from the Federal Secretariat Complex, Phase 3, Abuja between November 2024 and October 2025, and engaged with government institutions despite the Federal Government’s position that it was never lawfully created.
Gagdi added that the council relied on documents claiming to be “Chapter N2117 of the Laws of the Federation,” a law he said does not exist. The closest law, he noted, is the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission Act.
He expressed concern that N1,302,978,784 linked to the entity was included in the 2026 budget, warning that the development exposes possible lapses in the nation’s budget process.
Legal Drama
The matter is already in court. The purported Director General of the council, Adeyemi Adeniyi, is facing trial for forgery and impersonation. Adeniyi has accused the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, of facilitating the creation of the agency. The Presidency has dismissed the allegation and described Adeniyi as a fraudster.
Next Steps
The ad hoc committee, also to be chaired by Gagdi, is mandated to determine how the purported agency got into the budget and whether any government processes were compromised.
Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu has directed the ICPC to investigate the scandal. The Senate declined to open a parallel probe, saying it would wait for the ICPC report.
Officials say no funds have been released to the council, but questions remain over office allocation, document processing, and how the budget line was created.
