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Sola Shittu
The Senate on Wednesday witnessed sharp differences among lawmakers over the controversial ₦1.3 billion budgetary allocation to the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), an agency the Presidency has described as non-existent.
The disagreement emerged during plenary when Senator Kawu Sumaila (Kano South) called for an immediate Senate investigation into how the alleged agency found its way into the 2026 Appropriation Act, while Deputy Senate President Jibrin Barau urged lawmakers to allow the ongoing investigation by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to run its course before any legislative action.
At the centre of the controversy is a budgetary provision of ₦1,302,978,784 captured under budget code 0111062001 in the 2026 Appropriation Act. The allocation consists of ₦1,002,978,784 for personnel costs and ₦300 million for capital expenditure, despite the Presidency’s insistence that the PFIPC was never created by the Federal Government.
Raising the matter during plenary, Senator Sumaila expressed concern over what he described as a disturbing breach of Nigeria’s budgetary process, questioning how a body now declared fictitious could have passed through both executive budget preparation and legislative approval unnoticed.
He maintained that the development goes beyond the allocation itself and touches on the integrity of the nation’s public finance management system.
According to him, Nigerians deserve a comprehensive explanation as to how an agency that does not legally exist secured over ₦1 billion in the national budget.
The lawmaker urged the Senate to immediately refer the matter to the appropriate committee for a thorough investigation aimed at identifying those responsible for the anomaly.
However, Deputy Senate President Barau opposed an immediate parliamentary inquiry, noting that the Presidency had already directed the ICPC to investigate the circumstances surrounding the controversial allocation.
He advised the Senate to await the outcome of the anti-corruption agency’s investigation before deciding on any further legislative action.
“The Presidency has directed the ICPC to investigate the scandal surrounding the PFIPC. The Senate needs to wait for the outcome of the investigation before taking any action,” Barau said.
His intervention effectively halted moves for an immediate Senate probe.
The controversy followed a statement issued by the Presidency on July 1, declaring that the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council was “a fictitious body” that had never been established by the Federal Government.
The Presidency also disowned an appointment letter allegedly issued to Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Mathew, who reportedly used the document to secure office accommodation within the Federal Secretariat in Abuja.
Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, has denied signing or authorising the appointment letter, insisting it did not originate from his office.
In response to the development, the Presidency directed the ICPC to investigate the matter, while also mandating the Department of State Services (DSS), the Nigeria Police Force and the Economic andFinancial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to identify and prosecute all those involved.
Prince Adeyemi has reportedly expressed his willingness to cooperate with investigators, saying he is prepared to assist the ICPC in uncovering the facts surrounding the controversy.
The development has reignited concerns over transparency and accountability in Nigeria’s budgetary process, with observers questioning how an agency that allegedly has no legal existence could receive budgetary allocation running into billions of naira.
Attention is now focused on the outcome of the ICPC investigation, which is expected to determine the next steps in what is rapidly emerging as one of the most controversial budget-related scandals of the year.