Gbajagate: Falana demands ICPC probe over N24bn budget to ‘unknown agency’ with CBN account
…calls on Presidency to refer Gbajabiamila, others for investigation amid fraud allegations
By Raphael West
ABUJA — Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has urged the Presidency to refer Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, and another unnamed individual to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, over allegations of fraud and corruption.
Falana, in a statement monitored by newsmen said the referral had become necessary following public concerns raised about how a “whopping sum of N24bn” was budgeted for an agency whose identity has not been disclosed to Nigerians.
“The Presidency can only refer Femi Gbajabiamila, as well as the other individual, to the ICPC because allegations of fraud and corruption have been raised,” Falana stated.
The SAN further questioned the transparency of the budgetary process, saying the government must account for the allocation to the public.
According to him, the matter raises serious accountability issues given the size of the funds involved and the status of the beneficiary institution.
“The government will have to explain to Nigerians how a whopping sum of N24bn was budgeted for an unknown agency, as well as how that agency had accounts with the Central Bank of Nigeria,” he said.
Falana argued that public funds must be traceable to verifiable projects, programmes, or institutions, and that any deviation from due process should be investigated without delay. He maintained that the existence of a CBN account for an agency not known to the public compounds the concerns and warrants an independent probe by anti-graft agencies.
The lawyer’s call comes amid growing public debate on budget transparency and the management of intervention funds across Ministries, Departments and Agencies. Civil society groups have in recent months pressed the federal government to publish detailed breakdowns of allocations to special projects and off-budget entities.
As of press time, the Presidency and the Office of the Chief of Staff had not issued an official response to Falana’s demand. The ICPC also declined to comment, saying it does not speak on matters before formal investigation.
Gbajabiamila, who served as Speaker of the House of Representatives before his appointment as Chief of Staff, has not publicly addressed the specific allegations referenced by Falana.
Legal observers note that if the Presidency acts on the request, the ICPC would be expected to determine whether there was any breach of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000, in the budgeting, approval, or disbursement of the N24bn in question.
Recall that investigation by Presidency had revealed that Prince Adeniyi Matthew allegedly created a fake government agency called Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, appointed himself as DG, secured office space at the Federal Secretariat, opened a CBN account in its name, got N1,302,978,784 allocation in 2026 budget, summoned ambassadors to meetings, held strategic sessions with ministers, and even represented Nigeria at international conferences.
The development is likely to intensify scrutiny of how federal allocations are made to agencies outside the regular budget structure, and the oversight mechanisms in place to ensure accountability for such funds.
