By Olumide Johnson
The federal government has set September 18, 2026 as the deadline for ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) to submit their 2027 personnel budget proposals, signalling an attempt to bring the next budget cycle forward while tightening controls exposed by the 2026 fake-agency scandal. The Budget Office plans to submit the 2027 spending proposal to the National Assembly in September.
DEVELOPMENT:
The Personnel Costs Budget Call Circular, dated September 4 and signed by Director-General of Budget Office, Tanimu Yakubu, requires MDAs to submit hard and soft copies of their proposals by 4pm on September 18.
The government has also made it compulsory for MDAs to submit their Establishment Acts with budget proposals. The Budget Office said: “To further strengthen the budget preparation process and mitigate against any entry of unestablished agencies in the FGN Budget, it has become compulsory for MDAs to submit budget proposals along with their respective Establishment Acts as failure to do so, may lead to rejection.”
DATA:
The reform follows the controversy over the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, PFIPC, which received about N1.3 billion in the 2026 budget despite questions over its legal existence.
President Bola Tinubu subsequently ordered a forensic investigation. The Chairman of Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Dr Musa Aliyu, said that investigators found that Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) had no legal backing and that Adeniyi Adeyemi, who presented himself as its Director-General, was never appointed by government.
The ICPC also identified George Buchi Nwabueze as promoter of another questionable office. Tinubu ordered Nwabueze’s arrest and suspended three permanent secretaries, M.S. Danjuma, Nadungu Gagare and Richard P. Pheelangwah.
SIGNIFICANCE:
The controls extend beyond agency verification. MDAs must validate payrolls against Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) and Government Integrated Financial and Management Information System (GIFMIS), while unauthorised salary payments, recruitment and duplicate personnel entries face sanctions.
The Nigeria Country Director of Amnesty International, Isa Sanusi, said: “The incident of the fake government agency is an indictment of the Nigerian government. It is a practical indication of the rampant corruption within and around government agencies.”
NEXT MOVE:
The Budget Office will deploy a centralised Personnel Cost Monitoring Dashboard linked to IPPIS and GIFMIS for real-time expenditure monitoring. MDAs must also submit third-quarter personnel budget performance reports by September 30.
OUR LENS:
The government is attempting to turn the 2026 budget scandal into a systemic control reform. Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Taiwo Oyedele, had earlier said harmonising fiscal assumptions would reduce discrepancies between budget projections and actual outcomes.
The deeper test is whether tighter rules will translate into tighter execution. Nigeria’s budget credibility ultimately depends not only on getting agencies and numbers right at submission, but on preventing institutional weaknesses from reappearing during implementation.
Olumide Johnson is a journalist, reporting on energy, business, markets, policy and developments shaping Nigeria’s economy.
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