The House of Representatives has constituted an ad hoc committee, chaired by Hon. Yusuf Adamu Gagdi (APC, Plateau), to investigate how more than ₦1.3 billion was allocated in the 2026 federal budget to the alleged non-existent Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC).
The lawmakers said the investigation would focus strictly on the budgetary process and institutional lapses that allowed the agency to appear in the appropriation framework, without interfering with ongoing criminal investigations into alleged forgery and impersonation linked to the organisation.
The committee is expected to determine whether the controversial allocation originated from the Executive’s budget proposal or was introduced during legislative consideration, identify the stage at which existing safeguards failed, and recommend measures to prevent similar occurrences in future budgets.
Moving the motion, Gagdi described the incident as evidence of serious weaknesses in Nigeria’s budget preparation and verification process.
“The ease with which a single unestablished entity processed through official channels suggests a systemic vulnerability rather than an isolated administrative lapse,” he said.
According to the lawmaker, although the organisation reportedly operated from the Federal Secretariat Complex, Phase III, Abuja, between November 2024 and October 2025 and interacted with several government institutions, the Federal Government has since declared that no such agency was legally established.
He noted that records of the National Assembly contain no law establishing the PFIPC, adding that the organisation allegedly relied on a fictitious legal reference, “Chapter N2117, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria,” which does not exist.
Gagdi questioned how an entity without any legal backing secured a budgetary allocation exceeding ₦1.3 billion, stressing that the House must establish where the failure occurred in the appropriation process.
Following the adoption of the motion, the House directed the committee to invite the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning and the Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation to explain the verification procedures for admitting new entities into the federal budget.
The committee will also verify all ministries, departments, agencies and government bodies captured in the 2025 and 2026 Appropriation Frameworks against their legal instruments of establishment and receive briefings from relevant security and anti-corruption agencies.
Lawmakers further directed the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation to ensure that no funds are released and no payment warrants honoured in relation to any allocation linked to the PFIPC pending the outcome of the investigation.
The committee has been given four weeks to submit its report.
Supporting the motion, Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu disclosed that he had personally met representatives of the disputed organisation after receiving what appeared to be an official communication bearing the Presidency’s insignia, a Federal Secretariat address and a government domain name.
He said his office verified the address before granting the delegation an audience but became suspicious when the visitors abandoned the policy issues outlined in their correspondence and appeared more interested in taking photographs.
Kalu urged the committee to establish how the organisation secured office accommodation and gained access to senior government officials despite questions over its authenticity.
The probe comes amid heightened scrutiny of the alleged PFIPC, which has been disowned by the Presidency while anti-corruption agencies continue investigations into its activities and its appearance in the 2026 federal budget.