Amid ongoing debate over the alleged N400 million bribery scandal surrounding a “fake Federal Government agency”, the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, PFIPC, a budget analyst, Joseph Oriowo, has stated that the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President has no budgetary authority.
Oriowo spoke in reaction to allegations that President Bola
Tinubu’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, collected N400 million as bribe
from one Adeniyi Adeyemi for appointment as Director General of PFIPC. It is
also being alleged that PFIPC was captured in the national budget, with reports
indicating that over N1 billion was allocated to the agency in the 2026 budget.
It will be recalled that the Presidency had described PFIPC,
which has an office at the Federal Secretariat, Abuja, as a fake agency that
does not exist.
Speaking on the controversy, Oriowo pointed out what he
described as fundamental ignorance of how the Nigerian budgetary process works.
He said, “The Chief of Staff has no budget authority. Under
Nigeria’s Constitution and the Fiscal Responsibility Act, the power to propose,
allocate and include agencies in the annual budget rests solely with the
Executive as a whole, through the Federal Ministry of Finance, the Budget
Office of the Federation, and ultimately, the President, who transmits the
Appropriation Bill to the National Assembly.
“The Office of the Chief of Staff is not a budgetary office.
It is not a line ministry; it does not control the envelope system or issue
budget call circulars. It does not sit on the Federal Executive Council as a
voting member with a portfolio. The Chief of Staff’s statutory function is
coordination, advisory, and administrative management of the Presidency.”
According to Oriowo, to allege that Gbajabiamila “included
an agency in the 2026 budget” is therefore to allege that he performed an act
for which he has zero legal authority. “It is like accusing the President’s
Private Secretary of signing treasury warrants. It cannot happen, because the
system does not permit it,” he added.
Speaking further, Oriowo explained how the budgeting process
works.
He said, “For the benefit of citizens who may not be
familiar, here is how an agency gets into the budget: Step 1: Policy Approval –
FEC must approve the establishment or mandate. Step 2: Legal Backing – The
National Assembly must provide statutory backing or recognize the MDA. Step 3:
Budget Office Coding – The Budget Office assigns a code, cost centre, and
ceiling. Step 4: Presidential Transmission – The President submits the
Appropriation Bill to the National Assembly. Step 5: Legislative Scrutiny – The
National Assembly debates, amends, and passes the budget.
“At no stage does the Chief of Staff appear in that chain.
He is not the Minister of Finance, the DG Budget Office or the Chairman of the
Appropriations Committee.
“Every agency that appears in the Appropriation Bill must
have an enabling law, a mandate approved by FEC, and a budget code issued by
the Budget Office after due process. No Chief of Staff can short-circuit that
chain. Adeyemi’s so-called PFIPC is not listed among MDAs. It has no Act of the
National Assembly or gazetted establishment.
“If such a council exists at all, it would have to be
created by Presidential directive, followed by FEC approval, and then
legislative backing if it is to draw public funds. The Chief of Staff is not a
creator of agencies. He is neither the Secretary to the Government of the
Federation nor the Attorney-General. He does not have the power to constitute
councils of government by fiat,” the analyst said.
According to him, in the budgeting process, Gbajabiamila’s
role, if any, would be to schedule meetings, transmit documents, or ensure
proper routing of memos.
Oriowo urged Adeyemi to provide evidence of how the chief of
staff by-passed the steps in the budgeting process, as well as details of the
PFIPC’s establishment instrument, FEC extract and enabling legislation.
Stressing that the allegations are coming at a time when the
Tinubu administration is undertaking reforms, including subsidy removal,
foreign exchange unification and tax reforms, Oriowo noted that detractors
could be using the PFIPC scandal to manufacture distractions for the
government.
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