Tinubu orders probe into ₦1.3 billion fake agency in 2026 budget
President Tinubu has ordered the ICPC to investigate a fictitious federal entity that was allocated ₦1.3 billion in the 2026 budget.
President Bola Tinubu has ordered an investigation into a fictitious federal entity that was allocated ₦1.3 billion in the 2026 budget. The fake agency, the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), was uncovered after the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, alleged his signature and official seals were forged.
The agency had secured office space within the Federal Secretariat, operated several Central Bank of Nigeria accounts, and appeared in the 2026 Appropriation Act with an allocation of ₦1.3 billion. Checks by BBC News Pidgin confirmed the agency’s existence within government systems despite the Presidency’s claim that it never existed.
Tinubu has directed the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate the activities of the alleged PFIPC, with a report due within 30 days. The probe will examine the use of false official documents and the processes through which they obtained official recognition or diplomatic support.
The fake agency’s director, Adeniyi Adeyemi, has asked Tinubu to establish an independent investigative panel comprising civil society organisations, the Nigerian Bar Association, the media, international observers, and the ICPC and EFCC.
The scandal has exposed significant gaps in Nigeria’s budgetary and administrative systems. How a fictitious agency secured office space, opened CBN accounts, and received a budget allocation without being detected is a question that demands an answer. The ICPC investigation will determine who was responsible and whether any officials were complicit.
This echoes the 2012 pension fraud scandal, when billions of naira were siphoned through fictitious pensioners. The mechanism was different then, but the result was the same: a system so broken that fake entities could operate with impunity.
The winners: the ICPC, which has a high-profile investigation, and the Nigerian public, which may finally get answers. The losers: the officials who allowed the fake agency to operate, and the Nigerian government, which faces another scandal.
Bottom Line: A fake agency got ₦1.3 billion in the budget. The President has ordered an investigation. The question is whether the investigation will lead to accountability or join the long list of probes that go nowhere.