THE Federal Government earmarked ₦6.44 billion in the approved 2026 budget for Nigeria’s FIFA Men’s World Cup qualifying campaign, despite the Super Eagles having been eliminated from the competition months before President Bola Tinubu signed the budget into law.
An analysis of the 2026 Appropriation Act by The ICIR shows that the National Sports Commission’s (NSC) budget contains a capital project titled “Special (Presidential) Support Group for 2026 World Cup Qualifiers” with an allocation of ₦6.44 billion.
However, Nigeria’s qualification campaign had already ended on November 16, 2025, when the Super Eagles lost 4-3 on penalties to the Democratic Republic of Congo after a 1-1 draw in Rabat, Morocco, ending the country’s hopes of qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Despite the elimination, the allocation remained in the 2026 budget throughout the appropriation process.
Tinubu presented the 2026 Appropriation Bill to the National Assembly on December 19, 2025, more than a month after Nigeria’s exit from the qualifiers.
The National Assembly passed the budget on March 31, 2026, while Tinubu signed it into law on April 17, 2026, with the World Cup qualifiers allocation still intact.
The budget document does not explain why the allocation was retained after Nigeria’s qualification campaign had ended.
The allocation forms part of the National Sports Commission’s 2026 budget.
The commission received a total appropriation of ₦216.12 billion, comprising ₦17.95 billion for overhead expenditure and ₦198.17 billion for capital projects.
The ₦6.44 billion World Cup qualifiers allocation is among the capital projects listed under the commission.
The discovery comes amid increased scrutiny of the 2026 federal budget following the controversial allocation of over N1.3 billion to the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), an entity the Federal Government claims does not exist.
Findings by The ICIR showed that the purported council was listed under the Presidency with ₦802.9 million for personnel costs, ₦200 million for overhead expenditure and ₦300 million for capital projects, even though the Presidency maintained it was never created by law, presidential directive or executive approval.
However, the Presidency’s defence, contained in a statement issued on Wednesday, July 1, by presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, did not explain why the council appears in the 2026 Appropriation Act with a budgetary allocation of more than ₦1.3 billion.
The reaction came days after Adeniyi Adeyemi, who had claimed to be the Director-General of the PFIPC, accused Tinubu’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, of demanding part of the council’s alleged take-off grant and challenged the Presidency’s claim that the agency did not exist.
Adeyemi had questioned how Gbajabiamila could describe him as an impostor while he was demanding 58 per cent of the agency’s alleged N27.4 billion take-off grant.
He also queried the Presidency on how he was able to attend meetings with envoys, head of government agencies and secured approval to recruit 300 employees if his agency were fake.
He further alleged that the Chief of Staff received N400 million through proxies to facilitate his appointment as director-general of the council, with an outstanding balance of N200 million yet to be paid.
Responding to the allegations and ensuing public outrage, the Presidency described Adeyemi as an impostor who had created a fictitious government agency and used forged documents to deceive government institutions, foreign missions and the public.
The ICIR reported that Tinubu ordered the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to probe all issues surrounding the agency and report to him within 30 days.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Police Force has filed an eight-count criminal charge against Adeyemi and two others before the Federal High Court, Abuja. They are accused of forgery and impersonation, among others.
They are scheduled for trial on Tuesday, July 14.
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M