From Victor Osula, Abuja
The Nigerian Senate on Wednesday declined to launch its own investigation into the controversial budgetary allocation to the purported Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC).
The lawmakers however opted to support President Bola Tinubu’s directive for the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission to investigate the matter and await the outcome of the anti-graft agency’s findings before taking any legislative action.
This decision effectively puts on hold calls for a parliamentary inquiry into how the purported council, which has since been disowned by the Presidency, secured a ₦1.303 billion allocation in the 2026 Appropriation Act, leaving the ICPC to unravel the circumstances surrounding its inclusion in the national budget.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), had earlier clarified that the council never received such allocation.
The Senate’s position followed a motion sponsored by Senator Suleiman Kawu, who urged the upper chamber to commence a comprehensive investigation into the budgetary allocation, operations and controversy surrounding the PFIPC in order to safeguard the integrity of the Senate and the Federal Government.
Invoking Order 9 and Rule 9(c) of the Senate Standing Orders (2026), Kawu argued that the controversy had become a serious national issue capable of eroding public confidence in the National Assembly and undermining the legislature’s constitutional powers over appropriation and oversight.
“The Senate notes with concern that, in recent weeks, the public space has been inundated with allegations, controversies, accusations and counter-accusations concerning an entity known as the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC),” the lawmaker said.
Kawu urged the Senate to condemn what he described as administrative lapses, internal collaboration or fraudulent schemes that enabled a purportedly non-existent or unauthorised entity, listed under Budget Code 0111062001, to be incorporated into the 2026 Appropriation Act.
He also sought to mandate the Senate Committees on Ethics, Code of Conduct and Public Petitions, and Appropriations to investigate how the sum of ₦1,302,978,784 was proposed, scrutinised, justified and approved during the appropriation process.
According to the motion, the committees were expected to determine the ministries, departments and agencies, public officials or other individuals responsible for facilitating the council’s recognition and inclusion in the national budget, as well as establish whether any funds had been released, committed or expended under the budget line and whether any bank account had been opened or operated in relation to the allocation.
However, before debate on the motion could proceed, Deputy President of the Senate Barau Jibrin, who presided over plenary, ruled that the matter should not be debated, noting that the Executive had already initiated an investigation.
Jibrin informed senators that President Tinubu had directed the ICPC to conduct a full-scale probe into the controversy and advised that the Senate should await the outcome of the investigation before deciding on any further legislative intervention.
His ruling effectively halted consideration of Kawu’s motion and denied the proposed parliamentary probe.
The PFIPC has been at the centre of national controversy after emerging as one of the beneficiaries of the 2026 Appropriation Act despite repeated assurances by the Presidency that no such agency exists under the Federal Government.
The scandal has also led to the prosecution of the self-appointed Director-General of the purported council, Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, who is standing trial before the Federal High Court in Abuja on charges bordering on forgery, impersonation and related offences.
Adeyemi has denied the allegations, insisting that the documents in his possession relating to the council were legitimately obtained.
On Tuesday, President Tinubu directed the ICPC to investigate how the PFIPC found its way into the 2026 budget, identify all officials and individuals involved in the alleged budget insertion and submit its report within 30 days.
The President also ordered that anyone found culpable should be prosecuted in accordance with the law.
