* Awaits ICPC findings before taking legislative action
Sunday Aborisade in Abuja
The Senate on Wednesday stepped down a motion seeking a full-scale investigation into the controversial N1.303 billion budgetary allocation to the purported Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), choosing instead to await the outcome of an investigation already ordered by President Bola Tinubu.
The decision came after Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin, who presided over plenary, ruled that the upper chamber should refrain from debating the matter since the Presidency had already directed the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate the controversy.
The motion, sponsored by Senator Suleiman Kawu (APC, Kano South), sought an urgent probe into the budgetary allocation, operations and legal status of the PFIPC, amid allegations that the council is a non-existent government agency.
Titled, ‘Urgent Need to Investigate the Budgetary Allocation, Operations and Controversy Surrounding the Purported Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) to Safeguard the Integrity of the Senate and the Federal Government,’
the motion warned that the controversy had raised serious concerns over the integrity of the National Assembly’s appropriation process and its constitutional oversight responsibilities.
Presenting the motion, Kawu said the allegations surrounding the council had dominated public discourse in recent weeks, with conflicting claims over its existence, mandate and budgetary allocation.
He argued that the controversy threatened the credibility of the Senate and called for an investigation into what he described as possible administrative failures, internal collaboration or fraudulent activities that allegedly led to the inclusion of the council in the 2026 Appropriation Act under Budget Code 0111062001.
The lawmaker urged the Senate to mandate its Committees on Ethics, Code of Conduct and Public Petitions, as well as Appropriations, to unravel how the N1.303 billion allocation was proposed, scrutinised, justified and eventually approved.
He also sought an investigation into the ministries, departments and agencies, as well as officials responsible for inserting the budget line, and whether any funds had already been released, committed or spent under the allocation.
According to him, the proposed investigation should also determine whether any bank account had been opened or operated in connection with the council.
However, immediately after the motion was presented, Jibrin ruled that the Senate should not proceed with deliberations on the issue.
He noted that the executive arm had already initiated an investigation through the ICPC following President Tinubu’s directive.
The Deputy Senate President said it would be inappropriate for the Senate to embark on a parallel investigation while the executive probe was underway, urging lawmakers to await the outcome before deciding on any legislative intervention.
The controversy surrounding the PFIPC has intensified in recent weeks following a public dispute between the Presidency and the man claiming to be the council’s Director-General, Adeniyi Adeyemi Mathew.
The Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, had publicly disowned both the agency and its purported chief executive, describing the organisation as unknown to the Presidency.
Mathew, however, rejected the claim, insisting that the council existed and alleging that Gbajabiamila was fully aware of its operations.
He further alleged that the Chief of Staff collected N400 million from him to facilitate his appointment and later demanded 48 per cent of the N1.303 billion appropriated for the council in the 2026 budget.
The allegations have generated widespread public concern over the integrity of the budget process and renewed calls for accountability.
The Senate had also distanced itself from the controversy, insisting that it had no petition before it to warrant any legislative intervention.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Yemi Adaramodu (APC, Ekiti South), said the upper chamber could not comment officially on the matter because no formal complaint had been submitted to it.
He acknowledged reports indicating that the purported agency had a budget line in the 2026 Appropriation Act but maintained that the controversy originated within the executive arm of government.
Adaramodu stressed that the National Assembly neither created nor inserted the budget line and therefore could not be held responsible for the alleged existence of a non-existent agency.
He also explained that the Senate had no constitutional responsibility to verify the identities or appointments of heads of government agencies that do not require legislative confirmation.
According to him, had the alleged Director-General been one of the presidential nominees screened and confirmed by the Senate, the chamber might have had a direct role in addressing the controversy.
He further noted that the matter had already assumed a legal dimension, making it inappropriate for the Senate to interfere while litigation and executive investigations were ongoing.
The Senate spokesman, however, assured Nigerians that if any of the parties involved or any concerned Nigerian formally petitions the Senate over the existence or otherwise of the agency, the matter would receive legislative attention in accordance with the Senate’s rules and constitutional mandate.
The Senate’s decision to suspend consideration of Kawu’s motion effectively places the controversy in the hands of the executive for now.
The lawmakers are expected to revisit the issue only after the ICPC concludes its investigation into the disputed N1.303 billion budget allocation and the circumstances surrounding the emergence of the purported council.
