The Senate on Wednesday rejected a motion seeking a comprehensive investigation into the controversial ₦1.3 billion budget allocation linked to the alleged Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), citing an ongoing investigation by the executive arm of government.
The motion, sponsored by Senator Suleiman Kawu (APC, Kano South), was presented during plenary under the Senate Standing Orders (2026). Titled “Urgent Need to Investigate the Budgetary Allocation, Operations and Controversy Surrounding the Purported Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC),” the proposal sought to examine the council’s inclusion in the 2026 Appropriation Act.
Senator Kawu argued that the controversy surrounding the PFIPC had raised serious concerns about the integrity of the Senate, the credibility of the National Assembly and the legislature’s constitutional responsibility over budget approval and oversight.
According to him, recent allegations and counter-allegations involving the council have generated widespread public concern, making it necessary for lawmakers to investigate how the entity found its way into the national budget.
The senator called on the Senate to condemn any administrative lapses, internal collaboration or fraudulent practices that may have led to the inclusion of what he described as an unauthorised entity under Budget Code 0111062001 in the 2026 Appropriation Act.
He also urged the Senate Committees on Ethics, Code of Conduct and Public Petitions, alongside the Committee on Appropriations, to investigate how the sum of ₦1,302,978,784 was proposed, scrutinised and approved during the budget process.
The proposed investigation was also expected to determine the ministries, departments, agencies and public officials involved in facilitating the council’s recognition in the budget, as well as establish whether any funds had been released, committed or spent under the allocation, including whether any bank account had been opened or operated in connection with the budget line.
However, presiding over the session, Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin ruled against debating the motion, explaining that the matter was already being handled by the executive.
Jibrin informed lawmakers that President Bola Tinubu had directed the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate the controversy, urging the Senate to allow the executive-led probe to run its course before taking any legislative action.
The Senate subsequently declined to proceed with the proposed investigation.
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