The State House has denied asking the office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) to generate a budget code for the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC).
Abdulkadri Idris, director of administration at the State
House, spoke on Thursday when he appeared before the House of Representatives
committee investigating the circumstances surrounding the inclusion of N1.3
billion in the 2026 budget for the PFIPC.
Idris, who represented Temitope Fashedemi, the permanent
secretary at the State House, said the State House neither initiated nor
received any correspondence regarding the creation of a budget code for the
council.
BACKGROUND
On July 27, Shamseldeen Ogunjimi, accountant-general of the
federation, told the committee that the OAGF received a request from the State
House directing the creation of a budget code for the council.
Ogunjimi, however, claimed that the letter was discovered to
be fake after the budget code was already created.
At the centre of the PFIPC scandal is Femi Gbajabiamila,
chief of staff to President Bola Tinubu.
Adeniyi Adeyemi, the man accused of operating the agency,
claimed the chief of staff issued his appointment letter — an allegation
Gbajabiamila denied.
Adeyemi also said he borrowed N400 million to secure the
PFIPC DG appointment and that his lenders have reported him to the EFCC.
Adeyemi was arrested on July 14 by operatives of the police
intelligence response team (IRT) in Osun state, days after Gbajabiamila sued
him for N15 billion over alleged defamation.
‘WE DON’T REQUEST BUDGET CODES FOR AGENCIES’
Idris told the lawmakers that the State House had no prior
knowledge or engagement with the council.
“We did not send any correspondence or request to the office
of the accountant-general in respect of this council. We don’t even know
anything about this council. We only heard about it when it started appearing
in the news,” he said.
He also dismissed claims that the State House sought
approval for the establishment of the PFIPC, insisting that such responsibility
does not fall within the duties of his office.
Idris said he had earlier appeared before the police
cybercrime centre over a letter allegedly signed by Akanbi Adewale, described
as the director of administration and support services at the State House, who
purportedly requested the OAGF to create a budget code for the PFIPC.
According to him, no officer bearing that name had ever
served as director of administration in the State House.
Idris added that the State House has no department known as
the directorate of administration and support services, describing the
designation on the document as fictitious.
Idris said he submitted to both the police and the committee
a list of all directors of administration in the State House since 2003, noting
that the purported signatory did not appear anywhere in the official records.
He told legislators that appointments of political
officeholders are processed through the office of the Secretary to the
Government of the Federation (OSGF), not the State House administration.
Yusuf Gagdi, chairman of the committee, said the panel would
meet again with Esther Walson-Jack, head of the civil service of the
federation; the accountant-general of the federation; and officials of the OSGF
before concluding its report next week.
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