Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, has called for a judicial inquiry into the controversy surrounding the alleged fake Presidential Fiscal and Infrastructure Projects Council (PFIPC), describing the saga as evidence of a broader institutional and administrative failure within government.
Speaking in an interview with ARISE NEWS, Lawal argued that the circumstances surrounding the purported agency indicated the existence of a wider network that enabled it to operate within government systems despite questions over its legal status.
He maintained that an administrative investigation alone would be inadequate to uncover the full extent of the alleged irregularities.
“I don’t think it should even be administrative alone; it should be a judicial inquiry,” Lawal said.
The former SGF questioned reports of an alleged ₦27.5 billion take-off grant linked to the organisation, asking how such funds could have been approved and disbursed if the agency had no legal backing.
According to him, public attention has largely focused on reports of a ₦1.3 billion budget allocation to the alleged council, while more fundamental questions remain unanswered.
“Nigerians are talking about how ₦1.3 billion was inserted into the budget. The man himself first said the quarrel came about because he refused to part with 48 per cent of the ₦27-point-something billion take-off grant. That money has been spent before this budget issue came up.
“Who gave him the money? It was not appropriated for; it is not in any budget. How was the request for the release generated? How did it pass through the system?” he queried.
Lawal argued that the reported take-off grant, if true, points to deeper failures in public financial management and government oversight.
“We are only talking about the tip of the iceberg here. Before we got to this stage, ₦27.5 billion had allegedly already been disbursed as a take-off grant. How did that money get to them? It was not in the budget.
“This is what should frighten us. If such money can go to a fictitious organisation, we only begin to notice it when there is a dispute over how it got into the budget. How did that money get to them?” he asked.
The former SGF further contended that the controversy only came to public attention because of disagreements over the alleged sharing of funds rather than the effectiveness of existing government oversight mechanisms.
He stressed that only an independent judicial inquiry would be capable of determining how the alleged organisation was able to navigate official processes and identifying all individuals who may have played a role in the matter.
