Fake agency: FG mandates MDAs to submit establishment acts for 2027 budget proposal approval

The Federal Government has mandated all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to submit their establishment Acts along with their 2027 personnel budget proposals, aiming to prevent unestablished agencies from entering the federal budget. This directive is outlined in the 2027 Personnel Costs Budget Call Circular, published on September 4, 2026, and signed by the Budget Office's Director-General, Tanimu Yakubu.

The document, accessed via the Federation's Budget Office website, warns that non-compliance could result in the rejection of an MDA's budget proposal. This requirement is part of stricter controls introduced by the government for the 2027 personnel budget, encompassing payroll validation, recruitment, promotions, and staffing across MDAs.

The Budget Office has instructed MDAs to ensure that salaries and allowances in the budget pertain solely to legitimate federal employees, emphasizing penalties for unauthorized payments. The directive excludes consultants, contract staff, industrial attaches, outsourced providers, legionnaires, and youth corps members from MDA nominal rolls, as these are not permanent, pensionable federal positions.

MDAs must submit both hard and soft copies of their 2027 budget proposals to the Budget Office by 4:00 pm on Friday, September 18, 2026, with each page signed by the minister or chief executive and accounting officer. The 2027-2029 draft Medium-Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper were finalized by July 2026 to expedite the submission of the 2027 budget to the National Assembly by September 2026.

The centralised Personnel Cost Monitoring Dashboard, integrated with IPPIS and GIFMIS, will monitor real-time actual personnel expenditure against approved budgets. The fake agency controversy surfaced in June when the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President, led by Femi Gbajabiamila, issued a statement confirming the non-existence of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) under the Tinubu administration, including any appointments to head it.

The controversy also raised questions about a reported N1.3 billion allocation to PFIPC. However, the Budget Office clarified that the appropriation did not become actual government expenditure due to the incomplete completion of payroll, cash release, and procurement processes.