The committee was constituted following the adoption of a motion on the inclusion of the PFIPC in the national budget despite questions surrounding its legal status and establishment.
By Onwuka Mmesoma
365Daily – The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, will on Monday inaugurate an Ad hoc Committee to investigate the inclusion of the alleged phantom Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) in the 2026 Federal Budget.
The committee was constituted following the adoption of a motion raised by Hon. Yusuf Gagdi last week on the inclusion of the PFIPC in the national budget despite questions surrounding its legal status and establishment.
According to the House resolution, the committee is to trace the process through which the agency was introduced during budget consideration and passage.
It is also expected to identify the stage at which the inclusion occurred, examine the verification procedures applied before new entities are admitted into the federal budget, and determine whether existing safeguards within the budget process were circumvented.
In addition, the committee will invite the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning and the Director General of the Budget Office of the Federation to provide clarification on the procedures followed before the agency appeared in the budget framework.
The House further directed the committee to verify all ministries, departments and agencies reflected in the 2025 and 2026 Appropriation Frameworks against their instruments of establishment and receive briefings from relevant security and anti corruption agencies, without prejudice to ongoing proceedings before the Federal High Court.
The committee is chaired by Hon. Gagdi Yusuf.
Other members of the committee are Hon. Victor Afam Ogene, Hon. Bassey Akiba, Hon. Danladi Aguye, Hon. Alozie Munachi Nkemkefi, Hon. Bashir Zubairu, Hon. Abiante Awaji Inombek Dagonie, Hon. Fulata Abubakar Hassan, Hon. Abiodun Isiaq Akinlade, Hon. Zainab Gimba, Hon. Makki Abubakar Yalleman and Hon. Jallo Hussaini Mohammed.
The controversy surrounding the PFIPC gained national attention after reports emerged that the council allegedly operated as a government agency despite the absence of any law establishing it. The Presidency subsequently distanced itself from the organisation, maintaining that it was not created by President Bola Tinubu.
Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, who claimed to be the Director General of the council. has been arrested and is currently facing charges before the Federal High Court over allegations bordering on forgery, impersonation and related offences.
President Tinubu had also directed the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate the activities of the purported council and the circumstances surrounding its reported inclusion in the federal budget.
With the inauguration scheduled for Monday, the committee is expected to commence work immediately and submit its report within four weeks as directed by the House, with recommendations aimed at safeguarding the integrity of the federal budget process and preventing future occurrences of similar irregularities.