PFIPC Scandal: Babachir Lawal Reveals Why SGF May Have Rejected Alleged Fake Agency

Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal, has said the Office of the SGF should ordinarily have been responsible for identifying and flagging any irregularities involving the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), the body the Presidency has described as a fictitious agency.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

Lawal made the remarks while commenting on the ongoing investigations surrounding the alleged fake agency and the controversy linked to its operations.

The matter took a fresh turn on Monday following reports that the Nigeria Police Force detained the father of Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, who has been presented as the purported Director-General of the PFIPC.

Speaking during an interview on ARISE Television, Lawal explained that agencies reporting directly to the Presidency through the SGF fall under the office’s oversight, making it its responsibility to detect any questionable institution operating within that framework.

Drawing from his experience as SGF, Lawal said he personally participated in the budget defence process for all agencies under his supervision.

“During my time in office, all the 23 agencies that reported directly to the SGF were accompanied by me whenever they appeared to defend their budgets,” he said.

He explained that any agency under the Presidency would ordinarily have its budget scrutinised through the SGF’s office before it is transmitted to the National Assembly.

“If an agency reports to the President through the SGF, the SGF should be aware of its existence because its budget passes through that office before reaching the National Assembly,” Lawal stated.

According to him, except in cases of negligence, the SGF’s office should have been the first to identify and raise concerns about any alleged fictitious agency.

“I can tell you that, unless there was a dereliction of duty by the SGF’s office, the responsibility to flag such a fake agency rests with that office,” he said.

Lawal, however, suggested that institutional sidelining could sometimes prevent officials from carrying out their oversight responsibilities effectively.

“But if, at some point, they feel so sidelined that they no longer care and simply look the other way, that becomes a different issue. Even then, the responsibility to flag such an agency still belongs to the SGF’s office,” he added.

He further said that if he found himself excluded from key government processes while serving as SGF, he would have taken the matter directly to the President.

“If that had happened to me, I would have gone straight to the President to protest immediately,” Lawal said.